Hasina presents BDR chief's head to Indian delegation in gold platter
Tarek Ali
'Unusual' reshuffle sees top officers transferred
M Anwarul Haq (New Nation)
The chief of the 45,000-strong frontier guards Bangladesh Rifles (BDR),
Major
General Fazlur Rahman has been transferred, sources said.
General Rahman's deputy Brigadier General Abdus Salam Chowdhury and Director
of Operations Colonel Rafiqur Rahman, who holds third crucial position in
the
BDR, have also been posted out of the BDR, the sources added.
Major General Fazlur Rahman will be replaced by Major General Ishaq Ibrahim,
in command of Bogra Division and promoted to the rank of Major General last
month.
General Rahman will be taking over the Bogra Division.
He joined the Bangladesh Army during the War of Liberation and is known for
his gallantry and professionalism. He also wrote a book on Tactics of War, a
recommended reading for military science students.
He shot to fame when he vacated Padua in a military action on the night of
April 15 after the Indian border forces were building a road link. Later, an
intrusion of BSF forces in Roumari was successfully repulsed. The skirmishes
led to the deaths of 16 Indian border guards and three BDR personnel.
Major General Fazlur Rahman has since been appreciated widely for his
decisive
actions and is fondly referred to as the 'Hero of Padua'. He annoyed the
Indians and there was strong demand for his removal.
Immediately after the April events, Rahman said he and his forces carried
out
the mandated task to preserve territorial integrity.
Officials concerned of the government termed the transfers 'routine'.
However, defence analysts said the transfer of the three top-ranking
officials
in the BDR hierarchy ordered almost simultaneously is "highly uncommon and
unusual." They also said the action only two days before the Dhaka-Delhi
border talks "is significant". General Rahman and his colleagues were very
familiar with the management of outstanding border problems.
An Indian delegation is due to arrive today to begin three-day border talks
in
Dhaka from tomorrow.
Zunaid Kabir
http://www.dailystarnews.com/200107/03/n1070302.htm#BODY4
BDR reshuffle
Why now?
WE are intrigued by the abrasive manner in which BDR chief Major
General Fazlur Rahman, his deputy Brigadier General Abdus Salam
Chowdhury and Director of Operations Colonel Rafiqur Rahman have been
apparently eased off. Were it not for the indecent hurry about it we
would have certainly treated this as a matter of routine transfer and
posting in the armed services and let it pass without any comment. But
that's hardly the case.
Indeed, General Rahman's unceremonious exit raises more questions than
answers. He has served as the BDR chief for only one and a half years
before receiving those marching orders whereas normally it is after a
three-year stay in the command post that one is posted out. Here is a
man who was well in command only the other day but gets now a rap at
the knuckle apparently out of pressure felt somewhere at the
decision-making level, which willy-nilly overrode the usual transfer
norms. At any rate, since Fazlur Rahman's professionalism and
inspiring leadership had infused the borderguard organisation of
45,000 men with new life and vigour, all in 18 months, he should have
deserved better. Furthermore, he has had good credentials as an armed
force officer. He also carries with him the reputation of having
written a book on war tactics, said to be a 'must' reading for
military science students in Bangladesh. When a person of Fazlur
Raman's leadership qualities is jettisoned along with his deputies
without sound reasons that one could readily read into move, it is
likely to affect the morale of the troops and officers in the BDR.
An action like that leaves many unanswered questions and people have a
way of speculating answers to them which may not reflect quite
favourably on the government's sense of judgement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tarek Ali <tare...@MailAndNews.com> wrote in message news:<3B50...@MailAndNews.com>...
Shakil Sarwar
by Nasreen Huq
As her parting gift to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina has issued transfer orders to the Director General,
Major General Fazlur Rahman, the Deputy Director, Brigadier
General Abdus Salam, and the Director of Operations and Training,
Col. Rafiqur Rahman. It was expected that before leaving office
the Prime Minister would honour those martyred in the Battle of
Baraibari and award badges of courage to the BDR men and people of
Baraibari who fought heroically to protect their motherland.
Indeed the file to honour those who have been martyred has been
forwarded by the Home Ministry and has been sitting in the Prime
Minister's office for over a month. She has another week as the
head of the government to show whether the supreme sacrifice for
the country by the three BDR men carries any relevance for her.
When the bodies were taken to the respective villages of Shaheed
Md. Mahfuzur Rahman, Shaheed Wahid Mia and Shaheed Abdul Kadir,
the people came in thousands to pay their respects to these men
who laid down their lives for the country. The continued silence
of the government on this matter is incomprehensible.
The transfer of Major General Fazlur Rahman, just two days before
the border talks in Dhaka, came as a surprise to the people. After
the Baraibari incident, the Indian government had requested his
transfer. The Indian press had gone on a personal vilification
drive and he was referred to as the "BDR Cowboy" and an Islamic
fundamentalist because he had studied in his early life at a
Madrassah. The Indian press had gone even so far as to say that
the Prime Minister was unpopular with the armed forces and the
religious people.
The Indian newspaper, Statesman, quoted a high-level government
official, and said that the Border Security Forces (BSF) of India
were stepping up security mobilisation on the border as the
Bangladeshi election was imminent. Our government did not even
think about protesting against this provocative move. [They have
wasted no time, however, in expressing their dissatisfaction with
the report of the Transparency International and are considering
suing them for declaring Bangladesh the most corrupt state.]
Is the meek position of this government vis-a-vis India due to the
AL’s belief that it is the only way to interact with a big and
powerful neighbour? There is an adage in Bangla which says people
respect the strong and torment the meek (shokter bhokto, noromer
jom). Sources from the Foreign Office have confirmed that, since
the incident at Baraibari, the Indian officials have been more
attentive to requests from our side.
After the Mujib-Indira treaty was signed in 1974, the Indians were
not willing to discuss this issue with Bangladesh. It was reported
in newspapers that when the Director General of the BDR visited
Delhi in March, 2001, our government officials made unkind remarks
because he put the implementation of the Treaty on the agenda. But
today after Baraibari, they are discussing the issue. However,
Bangladesh continues to maintain a docile attitude in the talks.
In the last six months alone the BSF has shot to death 20 men and
one woman. A whole list of questions may be raised as to what they
were doing so close to the border or even on Indian territory, but
one can not overlook the fact that by aiming to kill, the BSF has
murdered 21 Bangladeshis in the year 2001 alone. In the last five
years, during the tenure of the government of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina, more than 350 individuals have been murdered by the
BSF. From 1976 onwards, the total number killed is about 550.
It is unfortunate that our Foreign Office panjandrums did not
consider it important to include the issue of border violence in
the agenda for the talks. Since the talks in New Delhi last month,
and prior to the start of the talks this month, ten people were
murdered. That is one murder every three days. India has blamed the
border battle that led to the death of numerous BSF men on the
"criminal adventurism" of the BDR. How should we describe the BSF
actions in murdering over 350 individuals over the last five years?
Was it just a matter of some bored BSF doing target practice?
The famous Tehelka.Com website that exposed the corruption of the
BJP government has responded jubilantly to the news of the BDR
transfers. Their headline, "Adventurist BDR chief replaced ahead
of Indo-Bangla border talks", says it all. They are celebrating
the fact that the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has
finally asserted control and did what India told her to do.
Clearly they consider this government to be "Her Master's Voice."
Is it a wonder that the majority of the people could not be happy
at this decision?