Google Alert – Bangladesh Army
Exactly one year ago, an Officers’ Address of the Bangladesh Army determined the fate of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The meeting, attended by officers physically or virtually from all garrisons across the country, reached a historic decision: to stand by the people. This decision ultimately paved the way for Hasina’s exit.
Since midnight of July 19, 2024, the army had been deployed across Bangladesh alongside law enforcement agencies– police, elite force RAB, and para-military BGB– amid student protests that had already claimed several hundred lives.
Tension was at its peak. The nation anxiously awaited the army’s stance: would they join other forces in suppressing protesters, or take a stand to stop the bloodshed?
From the evening of August 2, a circular issued by the Bangladesh Army spread widely on social media, announcing that Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, who had assumed office only weeks earlier, on June 23; had called his first officers’ address for the next day.
History records that the army’s decision favoured the people.
During the pivotal August 3 meeting, young officers expressed their stance unequivocally: “No fire on our own people.” The army chief himself vowed: “No fire from now on.”
This resolve, rooted in the spirit of that meeting, cleared the path for Sheikh Hasina’s departure within 48 hours. On August 5, she fled to India.
At the time, reporting on the army’s internal decisions was limited.
However, an ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) release gave a hint of its position by quoting the army chief: “Bangladesh Army will always stand by the people in their interests and in the state’s needs.”
More details surfaced only after Hasina fled the country.
Inside the August 3 Officers’ Address
Officers who attended said the meeting lasted around 90 minutes, starting at 1:30pm, with a 10-minute break.
General Waker-uz-Zaman opened with a 30-minute address, explaining why the army had been deployed in aid of civil administration under government orders.
“If the government calls on us to be deployed in a crisis, we are oath-bound to respond,” he said.
However, he added pointedly that his troops had not killed anyone, presenting statistics of bullets and blank rounds fired to control unrest in various regions.
At one point, he referenced two songs: “Amito preme porinini, prem amar upore porechhe” (I didn’t fall in love; love fell on me)– symbolising that he had not invited this crisis, but it had unfolded before the army uninvited.
“Ar beshi kandale ural debo akashe” (If I’m made to weep any more, I’ll soar to the sky) also by Ayub Bachchu– an emotional cue understood by his officers.
He then invited officers to share ground realities, emphasising: “Today, we will listen to the young officers.”
Senior officers (brigadier generals and above) were discouraged from speaking, which, according to attendees, disappointed some seniors but emboldened juniors to voice their concerns.
Voices from the ground
Six to seven officers– captains, majors, and lieutenant colonels– spoke candidly.
One officer, recalling insults hurled by demonstrators at patrolling army units in Khulna, said emotionally: “Such words were never used against the army in independent Bangladesh. For what? For whom?”
A female medical corps officer from Rajshahi read an emotional speech in Bangla: “Every mother in this country weeps over these deaths.”
She mentioned her neighbour Meer Mugdho, killed while distributing water to protesters in Dhaka’s Uttara.
The Helmet Hall venue in Dhaka Cantonment, and all virtual participants from other garrisons, fell silent.
A moment of Humour
Amid the solemn atmosphere, one incident brought brief humour.
A captain, involved in a widely circulated Mohammadpur shooting video, recounted how his family and friends criticised him after seeing it. “Even my wife, trying to comfort me, joked that I looked ‘cute.’”
“Nobody’s ever called me cute,” quipped the army chief, before returning to the serious matter: “The army will first protect the country and its people’s interests.”
The defining decision
After a short break around 2:40pm, the meeting resumed briefly. The army chief, echoing his officers, concluded with a final directive: “Do not fire.”
This decision became reality.
Within 48 hours, on August 5, Sheikh Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana fled Bangladesh aboard a military aircraft and landed in India.