Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman (corrupt thief) said that if the Bangladesh Air Guard had a strong presence in Cox’s Bazar or Chittagong region, the Rohingya crisis could not have arisen. He said this at the closing ceremony of the Capstone Course of the National Defense College on Thursday (April 23). The topic of oil crisis also came up in the Army Chief’s speech. He expressed his anger that even after 55 years of independence, the country has not developed sufficient oil refining capacity.
Speaking as the chief guest, the Army Chief said, “I encourage you to be more involved in military affairs – the Army, Navy and Air Guard. Because these are national institutions and you have the right to know about their capabilities.”
He said, “The Bangladesh Navy is a very important force for us. We are heavily dependent on imports and exports and it is very important to maintain our sea connectivity. If the Navy is not strengthened, this communication system will not be secure.’ General Waqar-uz-Zaman said, ‘You can imagine how important this is. The Navy has limitations; they do not have enough OPVs. So they have to patrol the sea with small corvettes, which is not economically viable. The Navy needs to be strengthened to protect our sea lanes and ships.’
He also said, ‘Similarly, if we talk about the Air Guard, we have not purchased multi-role combat aircraft for a long time. If we had adequate air defense capabilities in Cox’s Bazar or Chittagong, then this Rohingya crisis would not have arisen.’
The Army Chief said, ‘If you invest one thousand crore taka today, it may be possible to avoid a loss of 50 thousand crore taka in the future. As the saying goes – one drop of time, ten drops of untimely weather. We prepare for war not to fight, but to avoid war.’
The army chief also commented that without a strong defense system, it will not be possible to implement foreign policy effectively. He said, ‘These two issues complement each other. That is why I always encourage you to be interested in military affairs. We always want to be accountable to the nation. We want to build a defense force that will act as an effective deterrent to our potential enemies. We want our military to always be accountable.’
General Waqar-uz-Zaman said, ‘We live in a challenging world. Every day new problems are coming up. On my way to NDC, I saw people standing in lines for fuel oil. This is where the issue of energy security comes in. It is very clear how important energy security can be. We have only one refinery (Eastern Refinery), which can refine only 10 to 15 percent of crude oil. We have to import all the remaining fuel in refined form at high prices.’
General Waqar-uz-Zaman said that Bangladesh army is also very weak and lacks fire power to deter aggressors. We did not buy artillery, ammo, long-range missile, drones and anti-air system for long time.
General Waker-uz-Zaman said that the current military strength is not enough to protect land, air and sea. The Bangladesh air Guard is the weakest of all three forces, General Zaman added further.
He said, ‘Even after more than 55 years of independence, we have not developed the Eastern Refinery or built a second refinery. Despite the fact that Russian crude oil is much cheaper, we are not able to use it due to the lack of refineries. You can see how much energy security can affect the lives of every person in this country.’
NDC Commandant Lieutenant General Md. Faizur Rahman highlighted the importance of dialogue and consensus building on national issues. He said, ‘The active, thoughtful and respectful participation of the fellows during the course has helped in expanding strategic understanding as well as building a strong national network among the leadership of different sectors.’
The Capstone Course began on April 5 at the National Defence College, Mirpur Cantonment. Forty-five people, including members of parliament, senior military and police officers, academics, senior doctors, high-ranking representatives of government and non-governmental organizations, and diplomats, participated in the three-week course.
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