Bangladesh on Thursday ordered a commission to investigate the failed 2009 military coup and its subsequent crackdown, including the role of alleged “foreign” backers, the probe chief said.
The violent rebellion shocked the South Asian nation and ended with the army crushing the rebels, with many arrested and sentenced to death.
The last official investigation of the mutiny blamed many of the deaths on years of pent-up anger among ordinary soldiers, who felt that their appeals for pay increases and better treatment had been ignored.
But that investigation was conducted during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister by a revolution in August, when she fled to old ally India.
Since his fall, families of soldiers killed in the violence have been campaigning for the investigation to be reopened.
He has repeatedly accused newly elected Hasina of planning to weaken the military to increase her power in a coup-prone country.
The protesters have also accused India of being involved in that conspiracy.
The claims are likely to anger New Delhi, which did not immediately react to the allegations.
“Our aim is to determine whether any foreign entities were involved in the massacre, as allegations of national and international conspiracy have been made,” commission chief ALM Fazlur Rehman told reporters.
Insurgents stole thousands of weapons from the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) paramilitary squad in February 2009, before beginning a massacre in the barracks.
The rebellion spread quickly, with thousands of soldiers seizing weapons and pledging allegiance to the rebels before the army suppressed it.
Thousands of people were arrested and tried in special military courts following the massacre, as Hasina’s then-newly elected government struggled to regain control.
Hundreds of soldiers were given sentences ranging from death to a few years’ imprisonment, with the United Nations criticizing the process for failing to meet basic standards.
Hasina’s hardline regime was backed by New Delhi, and the 77-year-old’s remains were in India, souring relations between the nations.
On Monday, Dhaka said it had requested India to deport Hasina to face charges of “genocide, murder and crimes against humanity”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
