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| Bangladesh |
| Amnesty not for the killers: PM |
| 2009-02-28 |
| Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said those who committed the killings during the BDR mutiny would not be under the declared general amnesty. "They will be tried according to law and punished," PM's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad quoted the prime minister as saying. The government also announced a three-day national mourning from yesterday to mourn the deaths of those fallen during the border guards' mutiny. The national flag will be kept at half-mast during the mourning. Meanwhile, the government formed a six-member committee headed by Home Minister Sahara Khatun to investigate the massacre of army officers and innocent civilians by disgruntled BDR jawans at the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana. The prime minister alerted all so that none can stage any new incident capitalising on Wednesday's "dastardly" occurrence at the BDR headquarters, reported news agency UNB. "All must remain alert so none can stage any new incident because games of provocateurs are not over," she said while talking to reporters after visiting injured BDR officers at CMH in Dhaka Cantonment. The prime minister also talked with members of the bereaved families who lost their beloved ones. She said although she had declared general amnesty, every institution has its own rules and inquiry into the incident will be done accordingly. "It seems that all BDR personnel were not involved in it. It seems a certain group staged the incident," she said. "It must also be inquired if any quarter provoked this incident," she added. "We must see also whether there was any plan to use this incident for a different purpose," the PM said on a note of skepticism and questioned: "Why this incident was staged, what was the purpose?" She said about the rebellious BDR men that they might have their grievances and demands, and they could tell the government. But why fire should be opened on their brothers, she wondered. While extending sympathy to members of the bereaved families, Hasina mentioned the August 15 tragedy and said she does feel the pain of losing father, mother and brothers. "We don't want such bloodshed. Why this cruelty being staged time and again!" The premier categorically said such "cruelty must end, all must remain peaceful". Hasina, who tackled the terrible mutiny through hectic negotiations with the rebels, said she kept army on the standby alongside the negotiation to cool down the rebels and disarm them. "Our main concern was to rescue those kept hostage inside the headquarters and we completed the task successfully," she told the journalists. |
| Posted by:Fred |