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Bangladesh has faced several military coups since its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
15 August The coup of 15 August, 1975 was organized by some junior officers of Bangladesh Army. They were led by Major Syed Faruqe Rahman and Major Rashid. The coup resulted in the assassination of the country's president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, his entire family (daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana escaped as they were in Germany) and several ministers and leaders of Awami League. A civilian court in 1999, during the trial of the killers of Sheikh Mujib however observed in its verdict that the senior army commander and later President Ziaur Rahman had the fore-knowledge of the coup, and covertly co-operated with the rebel majors. 3 November The government set up by Major Faruque, Major Rashid and Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad was overthrown in another coup on 3 November, 1975. This was organized by General Khaled Mosharraf, Bir Uttom, a decorated freedom fighter. Mosharraf was seen by many as a supporter of the pre-August government. He took the army chief and fellow freedom fighter General Ziaur Rahman as a prisoner but did not execute him apparently because of Zia's huge popularity among the army. Some also claim that personal freindship between the two generals prevented General Musharraf to decide for a execution. 7 November General Mosharraf's 3 day coup ended in a counter-coup organized mainly by leftwing former army colonel Abu Taher. General Mosharraf was killed by troops loyal to the left-wing revolutionaries and to the re-instated army chief General Ziaur Rahman. However, in an interesting twist of events, the coup resulted in the ascension to power of General Ziaur Rahman and the subsequent execution of Colonel Taher at the order of a martial law court. Coups between 1977-1980 General Ziaur Rahman survived as many as 21 coups during his five years until succumbing to the 22nd one. Most of those coups were led by the 1971 freedom-fighter officers who were irked by Zia's liason with anti liberation pro islamic quarters. He strongly carried on oppression of rebel officers, and by the time he was assasinated in 1981 most freedom-fighters in Bangladesh army were executed or sacked. In the worst of such cases, in 1977, General Zia's martial law court ordered over 1200 air force offficers to be hanged to death after a coup attempt,as the coup leaders reportedly killed 20 senior most air force officials in their unsuccessful attempt to grab power.It is said that the Bangladesh Air Force even this day does not have enough senior officers because of these incidents. 1981 coup The coup of 30 April, 1981 took place in the southern port city of Chittagong, where President Ziaur Rahman was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers led by General Manjur, another freedom fighter and a personal friend of General Zia. While it said that General Manjur was annoyed with Zia over military strategic issues, many quaters including General Zia'a widow and later Prime Minister Khaleda Zia over the years have accused the then army chief and later President Hossain Mohammad Ershad to have covertly organised that coup using General Manjur. 1982 coup General Hossain Mohammad Ershad organized a blood less coup on 25 March, 1982 when he overthrew the elected president Abdus Sattar of Bangladesh Nationalist Party and took over as Chief Martial Law Administrator. He remained in power until 1990 when the military withdrew its support of his dictatorship against the backdrop of mass movement. Later coup attempts In 1996, Bangladesh army chief Lt. General Abu Saleh Mohammad Nasim Bir Bikram, a decorated freedom fighter who was appointed army chief by the previous prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was sacked by the ceremonial head-of-state President Abdur Rahman Biswas, blamed to be a Razakar, after the General refused to execute the Presidents order to sack some of Nasim's favourite army commanders. The two persons were also in disagreement over the role of the army during elections.In the days following the sacking there was cosiderable military build up in and around Dhaka as troops loyal to the President led by senior commanders like Major General Imamuzzaman, Major general Subid Ali Bhuiyan and Major General Ibrahim ( all reknown freedom fighters)prepared to defend the capital Dhaka from those loyal to the General who were advancing towards Dhaka from districts. However, the situation was politically defused at the initiative of the Caretaker Governemnt led by Justice Habibur Rahman. General Nasim was arrested and General Mahbubur Rahman, a non-freedom fighter army commander, was appointed the new army chief. Later in the year after the election, the new center-left government led by the Awami League overturned Nasim's dismissal and offerred him a regular retirement instead, sent General Rahman on mandatory retirement, and appointed General Mustafizur Rahman, a freedom fighter who was at his retirement , as the new army chief. See also | ||||||||
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