Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina ordered 2009 killings: commission

A commission set up to investigate a violent mutiny that saw dozens of senior army officers massacred 16 years ago has said former premier Sheikh Hasina had ordered the killings. Rampaging troops from the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) murdered 74 people, including military officers, during the two-day revolt that began in Dhaka and spread across the country in 2009, destabilising the government of then-premier Hasina weeks after she took office. After Hasina was ousted last year following a student-led uprising, the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus formed a commission to investigate the incident. Hasina, 78, has since sought refuge in India, defying court orders that she return to Bangladesh.

According to the commission’s report submitted on Sunday, the then-Awami League government led by Hasina was directly involved in the mutiny. Former member of parliament Fazle Noor Taposh acted as the “principal coordinator” and at the behest of Hasina who gave the “green signal” to carry out the killings, the government’s press office said, quoting the commission chief, A.L.M. Fazlur Rahman. “The involvement of a foreign force was strongly evident in the investigation,” the statement added.

At a news conference later in the day, Rahman accused India of trying to destabilize the country and “weaken the Bangladesh Army” following the carnage. Yunus welcomed the commission’s report, saying the nation had long remained in the dark about the reasons behind the 2009 killings. “Through the commission report, the truth has finally been revealed,” he said.

A previous investigation into the mutiny blamed years of pent-up anger among soldiers, who felt their appeals for pay rises and better treatment were ignored. But that probe was carried out during Hasina’s tenure, and her opponents claimed her involvement in a conspiracy to orchestrate the mutiny in order to weaken the military and bolster her own power.