Moin U Ahmed opened his mouth about BDR rebellion

  • Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Pic: Collected

Pic: Collected

Former Army Chief General Moin U Ahmed has opened his mouth about the BDR rebellion that took place on February 25 and 26, 2009 at the then BDR (now BGB) headquarters in Peelkhana of the capital. What happened at the BDR headquarters that day and what was the role of the government and the army, he said on his YouTube channel.

On Thursday (September 5), Moin U Ahmed spoke for the first time on his YouTube channel about what happened that day at the BDR headquarters and the role of the government and the army.

বিজ্ঞাপন

Moin U Ahmed said, when I ordered an investigation into the BDR rebellion incident, I was told that when the government is investigating this matter, what do we need? We did not get the help we needed from the government to conduct this investigation.

Moin U Ahmed said, on that day (25th February 2009) at 7:30 in the morning, the daily work of the headquarters started. In the morning I was preparing to go there. At that time, CGS Lt. Gen. Sinha came to me and said, we have some mortars, which are not used by the army. Its warehousing and maintenance is difficult for us. BDR uses these.

বিজ্ঞাপন

He also said that when I spoke to BDR DG General Shakeel, he agreed to take them. I believe he knew nothing about this rebellion till then. After that I went for another CGS meeting. The meeting started at 9 o'clock. We all got busy there. At 9:30 my Principal Secretary Colonel Feroz entered the room and told me that there was a commotion in the Peelkhana. You need guidance. After some time I tried to talk to the former Prime Minister. But their phone was busy.

Moin U Ahmed said, military intelligence then informed me about the situation. Realizing the gravity of the situation, I then ordered another Brigade to prepare for the operation without anyone's instructions to save time. They immediately started taking action which was named 'Operation Restore Order'.

He also said that DG BDR was available on the phone at 9:47. He told me that during the Durbar two armed soldiers entered and one stood behind me. Then came the sound of gunshots from outside. Immediately the soldiers inside, left the Durbar hall. It all seems to be planned and going according to plan. He said, I have sent sector commanders and battalion commanders to bring them back. Then I told him about the operation.

Moin U Ahmed said, I was able to contact the former Prime Minister on the phone at 9:54. Meanwhile, she got a lot of information about the BDR rebellion. When I told her about the operation, she wanted to know how long it will take to build this Brigade? When I asked for her permission to inform the Brigade about the time, she gave permission. In this case, although it took a lot of time, 46 Brigade started its journey within 1 hour.

He said, meanwhile, the rebels deployed rocket launchers, mortars and other weapons to resist the attack in front of the BDR gates. As the first vehicle of 46 Brigade approached the main gate at 11:00 a.m., insurgents fired rockets at a pickup. The driver died on the spot. According to Lt. Col. Shams, many officers including DG, DDG, Colonel Anis and Colonel Kaiser were shot dead between 10:30 and 11:00. Our team arrived after 11 am.

He criticized that the live media coverage during the incident played a negative role in spreading the BDR rebellion.

The former Army Chief said that Captain Shafiq reached Peelkhana with 355 RAB members under his leadership before 10 o'clock. At that time, he asked his superior officer for permission to enter the Peelkhana, but he did not get it. Had he been allowed, the situation might have been easier to deal with and not so much damage done.

He said that around 11:45 PSO AFD said that the government is trying to solve this problem politically. The rebels have demanded that the army must withdraw from the area before any talks are held. If there is no agreement with them then military operations will be conducted. At 12 o'clock he called me and asked me to meet the former Prime Minister at Jamuna urgently. Around 1 pm former Defense Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Whip Mirza Azam went to Pilkhana for discussion.

He also said that after I went to Yamuna, the Chief of Air Force and Navy arrived there. That means they have been asked to call me later. After a long time when they actually got there we were informed that AL leaders Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Whip Mirza Azam were coming to Jamuna with a group of rebels and they demanded amnesty. The former Prime Minister said, if the rebels have something to say, we should tell them. Then I told her, many have been killed. None of their demands will be accepted. You tell them first, officer killings have to stop right now. Second, all those detained must be released immediately. Thirdly, rebels with arms must surrender and fourthly, amnesty is out of the question.

Moin U Ahmed demanded a fair investigation of the incident in the video. He also said that the book written by him on BDR rebellion will be published very soon.