Army chief pledges full support for Yunus’ interim govt, hopes for polls in 18 months
General Waker-uz-Zaman and his troops stood aside in July and early August amid raging student-led protests against Hasina, sealing the fate of the veteran politician
Highlights:
- Army stood alongside students in July-August protests, sealing the fate of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina
- Army Chief Zaman says interim government led by Yunus has his full support
- 'Democracy transition should be within a year and a half'
- Bangladesh Army will not intervene in politics, he says
Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman has vowed to back the country's interim government "come what may" to help it complete key reforms after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina so that elections could be held within the next 18 months, reports Reuters.
General Waker and his troops stood aside in July and early August amid raging student-led protests against Hasina, who was forced to resign after over 15 years in power and fled to neighbouring India.
In a rare media interview with Reuters, Waker told Reuters at his office in the capital Dhaka on Monday that the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus had his full support and outlined a pathway to rid the military of political influence.
"I will stand beside him [chief adviser]. Come what may. So that he can accomplish his mission," Waker, bespectacled and dressed in military fatigues, told Reuters of Yunus.
The pioneer of the global microcredit movement, Yunus has promised to carry out essential reforms to the judiciary, police and financial institutions, paving the way to hold a free and fair election in the country of 170 million people.
Following the reforms, Waker-uz-Zaman – who took over as the army chief only weeks before Hasina's ouster – said a transition to democracy should be made between a year and a year-and-a-half, but underlined the need for patience, reports Reuters.
"If you ask me, then I will say that should be the time frame by which we should enter into a democratic process," he said.
Bangladesh's main two political parties, Hasina's Awami League and its bitter rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party, had both previously called for elections to be held within three months of the interim government taking office in August.
In response to the army chief's statements to Reuters on the time frame for holding the election, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told the media on Tuesday (24 September), "The sooner the election, the better for the nation."
He also emphasised that public participation is crucial for the reform process.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday told TBS, "Elections can take place before or after this time frame, but we believe it would be ideal to hold them earlier."
He added, "The army chief expressed his personal opinion, which we respect. However, the caretaker government should engage all parties, expedite the reform process and hold elections as early as possible."
Jamaat-e-Islami Spokesperson Matiur Rahman Akand told the media, "Our Ameer [Shafiqur Rahman] has already expressed the party's stance on the election, stating that polls should be held after completing the necessary reforms. This remains the party's official position on the matter for now."
Meanwhile, during an event at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Tuesday, Badiul Alam Majumdar, head of the Electoral System Reform Commission, said he believes that the reform work undertaken by the interim government is likely to be prolonged.
In response to a question about whether it would be possible to complete the reforms and hold elections within a year and a half as the army chief mentioned, Badiul said, "It is not for me to know. I believe this will be determined through discussions between the government and political parties. I have no role to play in this matter."
He added, "I believe that this process will be prolonged. There will be a dialogue between the political parties and the government. A roadmap will be created, and based on that, a collective decision will be made."
During his interview with Reuters, General Waker said Dr Yunus, the interim administration's chief adviser, and the army chief meet every week and have "very good relations", with the military supporting the government's efforts to stabilise the country after a period of turmoil.
"I'm sure that if we work together, there is no reason why we should fail," he said.
More than 1,000 people were killed in violent clashes that began as a movement against public sector job quotas in July but escalated into a wider anti-government uprising — the bloodiest period in the country's independent history.
Calm has returned to the teeming streets of Dhaka, a densely packed metropolis that was at the heart of the rebellion, but some parts of the civil service are not yet properly functional after the dramatic fall of Hasina's administration.
With much of Bangladesh's police, numbering around 190,000 personnel, still in disarray, the army has stepped up to carry out law and order duties nationwide.
Punishment and reforms
A career infantry officer who served through these periods of turmoil, Zaman told Reuters that the Bangladesh Army that he leads would not intervene politically.
"I will not do anything which is detrimental to my organisation," he said, "I am a professional soldier. I would like to keep my army professional."
In line with sweeping government reforms proposed since Hasina was shunted from power, the army, too, is looking into allegations of wrongdoing by its personnel and has already punished some soldiers, Zaman said, without providing further details.
"If there is any serving member who is found guilty, of course, I will take action," he said, adding that some military officials may have acted out of line while working at agencies directly controlled by the former prime minister or interior minister.
The interim government has formed a five-member commission, headed by a former high court judge, to investigate reports of up to 600 people who may have been forcibly "disappeared" by Bangladesh's security forces since 2009.
In the longer term, however, Zaman wanted to distance the political establishment from the army, which has more than 130,000 personnel and is a major contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
"It can only happen if there is some balance of power between the president and prime minister, where the armed forces can be placed directly under the president," he said.
Bangladesh's armed forces currently come under the defence ministry, which is typically controlled by the prime minister, an arrangement that Zaman said a constitutional reform process under the interim government could potentially look to amend.
"The military as a whole must not be used for political purposes ever," he said. "A soldier must not indulge in politics."