Bangladesh Army chief calls for national consensus, ‘political government’, tones down anti-India rhetoric

Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff General Waker-uz-Zaman cooled down the heated anti-India rhetoric that was heard in the student-led “unity rally” of December 31. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bangladesh needs to build an environment that will allow reconciliation among various stakeholders of the nation, Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said. In a frank interview with prominent news daily Prothom Alo, he made several critical observations on the policing failures of the current interim administration, and said India and Bangladesh were dependent on each other on many fronts and, therefore, both should remain mindful of this reality while taking decisions.

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“We want a peaceful environment. Peace and stability is very important now for Bangladesh’s economy and social development. Without these two factors, there can be no development or good governance. That is why we need to restore tolerance among ourselves. An environment of national consensus must be created,” Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman said, touching upon some of the critical issues in the country.

Bangladesh came very close to having a public showdown between the Anti-discrimination Students Movement and the military-backed interim administration, on December 31, 2024, when student activists, still triumphant from the successful overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina government five months previously, wanted to “bury” the Constitution of Bangladesh.

The call for a “July proclamation” to do away with the 1972 Constitution, which has been followed even by the former military rulers of Bangladesh, created a tense situation on the streets, and finally, the interim government came out with an assurance that it would declare its own July proclamation to formalise the legacy of the uprising in July-August. Surprisingly, the call to do away with the Constitution found opposition from prominent leaders in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, with standing committee member Mirza Abbas describing the call to dismantle the 1972 Constitution as “fascist”.

Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman also cooled down the heated anti-India rhetoric that was heard in the student-led “unity rally” of December 31. “India is an important neighbour (of Bangladesh). We are dependent on India in many ways. And India is getting facilities from us, too,” he said.

He depicted the India-Bangladesh relationship as one in which both sides depended on the other for their security needs, economic activities, and the medical requirements of the people of Bangladesh. “See, the thing is that we will not do anything with our neighbour that goes against their strategic interests. At the same time, we will expect that our neighbour does nothing that is contrary to our interests,” the Army chief said. He pointed out that security concerns at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and the Chittagong Hill Tracts were of great importance to Bangladesh, while reminding India to stop border killings and provide Bangladesh with its “fair share of water”.

The interview with Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman has created a buzz among Bangladesh observers for several reasons, including the message it seeks to convey. In view of the breakdown of law and order, especially the dysfunctional police administration in Bangladesh, there had been growing anticipation that the military would secure a more direct role. In September, the Bangladesh military was given magisterial powers, although it has not used them fully so far.

Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman pledged full support to the interim government led by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus but, significantly, declared explicitly that the restoration of institutions in the country would depend on a politically empowered government. “This will require political parties and a government. This will not be possible without politics and without a political government,” he said.

He also expressed eager concern for the recovery of Bangladesh’s policing capacity, with many instances of mob justice having taken place since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. “They (the Army) have been five months in the field now. If the police could get organised fast, I would have no worry,” Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman said.

The Prothom Alo interview, however, did not include a question on the issue of Sheikh Hasina’s presence in India, which has greatly disturbed ties between New Delhi and Dhaka in the past few months.