The temporary appearance of some short-lived great man, who hasn’t just become a leader of a nation but emerged as the abstract symbol and beacon of confidence for a country and an independent nation. The very one name appears as Ziaur Rahman.
I sometimes wonder if Zia had not been killed that day or if Zia had somehow survived, would Bangladesh be in the same position today? Such a debonair and visionary leader has not come before, and I doubt if he will ever come again. He understood very well where to spark or emphasise to ignite and how much it would ignite.
The death of martyred President Ziaur Rahman was a huge blow, a huge blow to the establishment of democracy and the introduction of the rule of law. Our deepest condolences and tributes on the 45th martyrdom anniversary of martyred President Ziaur Rahman.
The first announcement of Zia’s assassination came from Chittagong Radio. An anonymous military officer read the announcement. He also said that a council called “Revolutionary Council” had seized power in the country through a military coup and removed President Zia. The then government of Bangladesh did not respond to this announcement for 6 hours.
Six hours later, the Vice President made the first public reference to the so-called military coup in a radio address by the government. In that address, the Vice President identified Major General Munjur as the leader of the rebels.
What is the best way to solve a crime? There is a saying in ancient Rome, “Que bueno” which means Who is the beneficiary? That is, those who benefit. The entire operation took only an hour. Three to four in the morning. Although the operation was very successful for the single motive, the operation later became incoherent and incomprehensible.
According to eyewitness accounts, after Zia was killed, his body was lying on the balcony of the second floor, a few feet away from the president’s living room. Zia was the most powerful person in Bangladesh at that time, at whose call the entire military once woke up. Zia, who was killed by his close associates, lay helpless on the balcony of the circuit house.
The motive for Zia’s murder is still unknown. The then Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Ziauddin Chowdhury wrote, “When Zia’s travelling companions came out one by one after his assassination, they all looked scared and terrified. Only the President’s PS Lieutenant Colonel Mahfuz was seen to be very calm, calm and gentle. When Lieutenant Colonel Mahfuz was coming, he was walking in military uniform, with a military radio in his hand.”
He very calmly informed everyone that the Home Minister and the Chief of Army Staff (General Ershad) were coming by helicopter. His demeanour did not indicate that any catastrophic incident had occurred a moment earlier, but rather that everything was under their control.
That night, Colonel Ehsan and Major Hafiz, officers of the Presidential Guard Regiment, were in charge of the President’s security. Colonel Mahfuz had come from Dhaka as President Zia’s PS. According to an eyewitness account, on a stormy night, some junior army officers came to the Circuit House. President Zia came out at the sound of gunfire. As soon as President Zia opened the door, the entire magazine of the automatic weapon was discharged on President Zia’s face.
General Manzur was captured by the police. According to the American journalist Lawrence Lifschultz, in his book Testament: Bangladesh – An Unfinished Revolution, a man from Dhaka drove into a designated solitary cell in the cantonment, shot General Manzur from behind while he was sitting and imprisoned.
Air Chief Marshal Sadaruddin wrote, “After hearing that General Manzur had surrendered to the police, I, as the then Air Chief Marshal, told Army Chief Ershad to keep General Manzur alive at all costs. After Manzur’s assassination, General Ershad informed me that a group of unruly soldiers had killed Manzur.” Air Vice Marshal Sadruddin then angrily told General Ershad, “Tell this story to someone else. At least don’t ask me to believe it.”
A few days later, freedom fighter officer Sadruddin was removed from the post of Air Chief Marshal. Was the plan to assassinate President Zia, General Manzoor or someone else? Why was General Manzoor assassinated so suddenly? It has not been decided to this day.
Just before the mutiny, several freedom fighter officers were posted in the Chittagong Cantonment, but why they were posted is still a mystery. There are no answers to these questions. They have not been found yet. Maybe they will not be found someday.
Then the trial of the army mutiny, the court-martial, began. An army coup is defined as ‘mutiny’ in military terminology. The Chittagong army rebellion or mutiny that took place on May 30, 1981, was trialled, but to this day, there has been no trial for the assassination of President Ziaur Rahman.
The trial of mutiny or military rebellion was held under Section 31 of the Bangladesh Army Act. Only freedom fighter officers were accused. At that time, three of the four brigade commanders in Chittagong Cantonment were freedom fighters – Brigadier Mohsin, Colonel Nawazesh and Colonel Rashid. All three were court-martialed and hanged.
General Ainuddin (Bir Pratik) stated, “The Pakistan-returned officer, Brigadier Azizul Islam, was with General Manzoor after the assassination of Zia; he was also not brought to justice. But the allegations that Brigadier Mohsin, Colonel Nawazesh, Colonel Rashid, Colonel Mahfuz, Major Mominul Haque and other freedom fighter officers were involved in the army mutiny were not proven in court. Even then, they were quickly executed.”
More army officers were killed in our independent Bangladesh than in the 1971 Liberation War. Not only were they killed, but the glorious legacy of those army officers, the abstract symbol of patriotism, was also killed.
Whose dreams and sincerest dreams were only Bangladesh, in whose thoughts and consciousness, the words of the people of Bangladesh were repeatedly heard. He is our unprecedented great leader – President Ziaur Rahman. In every country and era, some great souls and great men emerge, whose death is heavier than the Himalayas!
For whom the entire nation cries, the heart of every sensitive person cries. President Ziaur Rahman was such a great soul! Whose death brought a flood of tears to the eyes of millions of people of this country, brought a flood of grief to the heart!
On this day of the 45th death anniversary of our beloved leader, I remember him with deep respect. So, for the national interest, the truth should not be shrouded in mystery; we should find out the real story and the brain behind the assassination.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author
The writer is a political analyst and online activist
