Syed Bashir
When men in uniform start killing those they are supposed to protect, it becomes a cause for national worry. Especially when these specially trained and highly efficient men kill for money while in uniform. I stress – while in uniform. Because we all know there is a long tradition in the West of special forces men turning mercenaries but after hanging up their boots. Frederick Forsyth’s Jackal was from the French Legion – a ruthless cold mercenary paid to kill French president Charles De Gaulle. Scores of such characters can be found in best selling Western fiction, some finally made into films.
While working for a leading western news agency, I have met some such former Special Forces veterans, who after retirement, work for security companies, some training journalists for ‘Hostile Environments’. Organisations such as the BBC don’t send their journalists to battlefronts without ‘Hostile Environment’ training. In one such training session in UK’s Sussex, I ran into a few ex-SBS veterans who trained us on weapons, explosives and survival, not because we were to use them for fighting a war but to be aware of what they were and to dodge them for protecting our own life and limb. We were expected to be able to handle ourselves if kidnapped, injured or caught in a crossfire (not the South Asian type) between rival forces.
These SBS or Special Boat Squad veterans had done their share of Artic Patrols behind Soviet lines on deep penetration espionage. After retirement, they had signed up for dozens of tough missions, all for ‘good money’ before settling down to training journalists and executives for ‘hostile environments’ as they grew old. I learnt from them that many of their juniors were into missions for ‘dicey people’ including rogue Third World governments and potentates because ‘mate, the money is great’. But we should know these veterans took up controversial jobs or missions only after they had left the uniformed services. It is inconceivable, surely impossible, for an SAS or SBS officer to get involved in a private hit-job for ‘good money’ when in service. The British parliament would question the funding for these forces, were something like Narayanganj to happen.
That is why Narayanganj is a cause for worry. If the allegations against the three former RAB officers finally hold and are found correct, it would mean the elite force has been totally turned on its head and seriously compromised. It would mean serving army and navy officers can be hired for a hit job by private players (politicians included), meaning the discipline, chain of command and the ethos of Bangladesh’s military has been severely compromised. For an army that sends so many of its men for UN peace keeping duties, this could be severely disturbing, if the UN takes note. The Bangladesh army has its share of glory because many of its men and officers fought bravely in the 1971 Liberation War, albeit as irregulars. Then it sank into the abyss of frequent mutinies, coups and counter-coups that led to the assassination of two Presidents and scores of its own officers. Over the years, it managed to reverse the process and did emerge as a professional army. That its troops are on so many UN peace keeping missions is a global recognition that the tatterdemalion army of the 1970-80s has emerged into a professional force, if not into a regiment of heroes.
But when army officers get deployed either directly on internal security duties for too long or they are deputed to ‘internal security forces’ like RAB, the risk of compromise of professional values begins to grow. They stand accused of extra-judicial executions, of rape and torture and even big time corruption. But what is said to have happened in Narayanganj is beyond the pale. If the RAB-11 officers were indeed involved with the abductions and murders of the ill-fated seven including councillor Nazrul and lawyer Chandan Sarkar – and for millions of Takas, as has been alleged – it would mean they were just a bunch of hired killers. They are not worthy of their uniforms – or serving in any disciplined uniformed services. Not only should they deserve highest punishment because of involvement in murders, but it should ring the alarm bells for those leading the force at the level of the rot that has set in. The taxpayer deserves a better deal for the hard-earned money that is being spent on such a force.
The RAB has been credited with many success in anti-terrorist operations and had emerged into a fine force since its inception a decade ago. Its ability to generate intelligence and act on it promptly and decisively accounted for its many successes specially in handling Islamic radicals across the country. But in recent months, some of its personnel have been accused of being behind extra-judicial killings, disappearances and torture — and worst, of using all their considerable skills for making quick money by extortions and signing up for ‘dirty tricks’ for anyone willing to pay up. They have been accused of being used against business rivals – as the recent case of non-resident Bangladeshi businessman Wajibulla, who is settled in Spain, tends to indicate. They have been accused of extortions – kidnapping businesspersons and then getting their families to pay up. No force with a sense of professional pride can allow this to happen.
Without getting into the politics surrounding the RAB now, one can safely say that it needs to be reorganised and all the bad apples need to be weeded out. The top brass cannot just order one internal probe on the Narayanganj murders and sit pretty. They need to take into account all such allegations where RAB officers and men have been found messing around. The units should be reorganised and all those under the scanner should be weeded out. Then they need to be put through intensive reorientation under appropriately inspiring leadership. It should attract not the rif-raffs who look for quick money and juicy postings that can fetch more than an UN posting – but it should attract the best from the armed forces who would do all for their badge of honour.
It may be too much to suggest the RAB needs to be disbanded. Bangladesh does need such a force, but one that protects the citizens from the bad guys and not end as the bad guys themselves. The RAB needs a huge professional makeover , including one for its fast dwindling image.
Source: Bd news24
