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More than 1000 in Bangladesh charged over mutiny
Sydney Morning Herald - March 2, 2009
Matt Wade – Bangladesh was in shock yesterday as details of the barbaric mutiny by its border guards were revealed. Dhaka police have charged more than 1000 members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) over the mutiny.
The police statement accuses the mutineers of killing army officials and their spouses with firearms and explosives in a "pre-planned way". They are also charged with illegally taking hostages and setting on fire and hiding dead bodies.
The document names six personnel from the BDR as leaders of the revolt. However, Muhammad Nowsher Ali, joint commissioner (crime) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the police "would identify other members who were involved in the carnage," the Bangladesh newspaper the Daily Star reported.
Emergency services workers were still searching for bodies at the headquarters of the BDR, four days after the revolt by rank-and-file members of the country's 45,000 member paramilitary border force.
It is feared more than 130 people were killed during the mutiny, mostly officers from the army. By yesterday about 80 bodies had been recovered but another 50 officers were reportedly still missing. Three days of official mourning in Bangladesh ended last night.
Many of the dead officers were found in two shallow mass graves. They included the director-general of the BDR, Major-General Shakil Ahmed. His colonial bungalow at BDR headquarters was ransacked by rebels, and the army said his wife had been raped and killed.
Navy divers have searched sewers around the headquarters after several bodies were found dumped there.
Most of the victims died between 9am and 11am on Wednesday, when disgruntled BDR troops went on an armed rampage. The Government has set up a special tribunal to investigate the mutiny.
Before the rebel troopers laid down their arms, the Prime Minister, Sheik Hasina Wazed, promised an amnesty. But now authorities say those responsible for the deaths will be punished.
"The BDR troops who took part in these barbaric and grisly acts cannot be pardoned and will not be pardoned," said Lieutenant-General M. A. Mubin, the army's second-in-command. Those found guilty could face the gallows.
There were fears the fallout from the mutiny could strain relations between Sheik Hasina's Government and the army. But the army chief, General Moin U. Ahmed, pledged the military's full support for the Government.
Other senior officers yesterday played down the anger in the army over the mutiny. The Director of Military Intelligence, Brigadier-General Mahmud Hossain, said there was "pent-up anger" in the army following the carnage but said discipline remained intact.
Even so, the mutiny has raised questions about the political stability of one of the poorest countries in Asia.
One explanation advanced for the mutiny is that rank-and-file members of the BDR opened fire on officers when they dismissed appeals for better pay and refused troopers lucrative United Nations peacekeeping missions.
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