Since stakeholders busy accusing each other, miscreants find situation favourable: General Waker
\n Dhaka
\nBangladesh\u2019s army chief on Tuesday blamed infighting for deteriorating law and order, warning that the gains of the student-led revolution that toppled the government last August were at risk.
\nThe South Asian nation has been struggling to stem a surge in violent crime, with the security forces arresting thousands this month targeting gangs allegedly connected to the party of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
\n\u201cIf you can\u2019t move beyond your differences and continue meddling and fighting among yourselves, the independence and integrity of the country will be at risk \u2014 I warn you,\u201d said General Waker-Uz-Zaman, without singling out any group by name.
\n\u201cSince stakeholders are busy accusing each other, miscreants find the situation favourable. They believe they can get away with anything,\u201d he said at an army memorial event.
\nBangladesh has been riven by a surge of crime, as well as protests this month where crowds smashed buildings connected to Hasina\u2019s family.
\nLast week rival student factions clashed at a university campus, a sign of serious discord between groups instrumental in driving the uprising against Hasina.
\nSecurity forces have arrested more than 8,600 people since it launched \u201cOperation Devil Hunt\u201d on February 8, which the government has accused of being Hasina loyalists and of wanting to \u201cdestabilise\u201d the country.
\n\u201cThe anarchy we have witnessed is manufactured by us,\u201d Waker said.
\nBangladesh has a long history of military coups.
\nWhile it was Waker who took charge after Hasina fled by helicopter to India on August 5, he had also urged the people to back Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus.
\nYunus, 84, vows to institute far-reaching democratic reforms and hold general elections in late 2025 or in early 2026, and Waker had sworn in the interim government.
\n\u201cAt the beginning, I said it would take 18 months to hold an election,\u201d Waker said.
\n\u201cWe are on that path. Professor Yunus is doing his best to keep us united. Let\u2019s help him.\u201d
\nKey student protest leader Nahid Islam resigned on Tuesday from the government cabinet \u2014 where he headed the telecoms ministry \u2014 ahead of the expected launch of a new political party on Friday.
\nYunus has said he inherited a \u201ccompletely broken down\u201d system of public administration and justice that needs a comprehensive overhaul to prevent a future return to autocracy.
\nWaker said security forces accused of a raft of allegations \u201cof enforced disappearances, murder, and torture must be investigated\u201d.
\n\u201cPunishment must be ensured,\u201d he said. \u201cOtherwise, we will be trapped in the same cycle.\u201d
\nThe armed forces were granted judicial powers like the police \u2014 including making arrests \u2014 after the revolution.
\nBut Waker, a career infantry officer who has spent nearly four decades in the military, serving two tours as a UN peacekeeper, said he just wanted a break.
\n\u201cI just want to bring the country and the nation to a stable point and then take a vacation\u201d, he said. \u201cAfter that, we will return to our barracks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Since stakeholders busy accusing each other, miscreants find situation favourable: General Waker Dhaka Bangladesh\u2019s army chief on Tuesday blamed infighting for deteriorating law and order, warning that the gains of the student-led revolution that toppled the government last August were at risk. The South Asian nation has been struggling to stem a surge in violent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-463847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n