We are all alert: Army chief
Chief of Army Staff, General Aziz Ahmed, has said that the Bangladesh Army, which is the pride of the nation and the country, is being maligned by all sorts of propaganda. The army is a trained, disciplined force, even more organised than before. The army's 'chain of command' is effective and every member of the army rejects such malicious efforts with hatred.
The army chief was speaking to newsmen Tuesday morning at an event held at the Army Aviation Group in Tejgaon of the capital city. He replied to certain questions about a report of Al-Jazeera.
Referring to the report, he said, "We in the chain of command are all alert about this matter. Such malicious attempts will not be able to even leave a scratch on the army. The army is respectful toward the constitution of the country, is committed to uphold the constitution and is loyal to the government of Bangladesh. It is always ready to carry out any order or directive of the present government. We are constitutionally committed to deal with any problems within Bangladesh and outside."
Replying to a question of newsmen about the Al-Jazeera report, army chief General Aziz said, "If there was a case against you, a sentence against you, but yesterday if there is no case, can you be called a fugitive today? Can you be called convicted? When you are acquitted of charges, the next day you are the same as any free citizen."
He said, "A clear explanation has been given about the malicious propaganda against by brothers. A press briefing will be held shortly on behalf of my family in this regard. As the army chief, I am fully conscious about the army's image, my position and responsibility."
About meeting his brother in Malaysia, the army chief said, "When I met my brother in Malaysia, there was no case against him. Even the case which had been filed against him as a conspiracy had been cleared. The acquittal had been in March and I had gone in April." He said, "The statement given by Al-Jazeera was completely ill-motivated. That day my brother faced no sentence, nor any case. He had been acquitted of charges beforehand."