Media sympathy and anger at mutiny

Scores of Bangladesh's border force soldiers have been arrested

There is some sympathy in the Bangladeshi press for the grievances of border guard soldiers who staged a two-day revolt against their officers.

But they condemned the violent expression of their anger, saying such behaviour could have serious consequences for the country's stability and integrity.

While there were commentators who condemned the mutineers outright, others said their grievances, which related to rejected appeals for more pay, subsidised food and holidays, should be addressed peacefully in order to prevent another revolt.

There was also some suspicion that the mutiny, which started at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), might have been used to serve the political goals of third parties.

[This mutiny] warrants a thorough investigation as to why the revolting BDR soldiers took such an extreme step. If their perceptions of deprivation are not addressed even to a minimum degree, their will be fears that anger will mount.

This should not be taken lightly. The legitimate claims of the BDR must be accepted. However, the country cannot be saved if we are not stern in suppressing the revolt.

Our very existence is shaken when the mutiny by some BDR soldiers creates an opportunity for clashes between two brotherly forces. We do not want any such clashes at any time.

Regardless of how genuine the grievances of the BDR jawans (soldiers) are and how strong their resentment, they do not justify the violent course that the BDR jawans took, unleashing a reign of terror inside the BDR headquarters and panic across the country.

This has created a lot of uncertainty and instability [in the country]. There is strong suspicion about whether the motive behind the sudden revolt by a section of BDR was to create such a situation... the stubborn attitude of some BDR members will certainly pose obstacles on our country's path to democracy.

It is necessary to probe whether there was any instigation from any third party that pitted two armed forces - the BDR and the army - against each other, so as to fish in troubled waters.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

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