A chequered history

The highly visible role of the military during violent protests that led to the eventual postponement of elections was looked at askance by the international community which had grave misgivings over the unprecedented powers to arrest demonstrators given to Bangladesh's army chief Lt. Gen Mohiudeen Ahmed by the president.

The army has a chequered history. Inheriting its structure from a pre-independence avatar, it played no role in the war of liberation. In the years after the coming to power of founding father Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, much of the instability in the country was laid at the army's door, criticised by some for their divided loyalties. Military leaders such as Maj-Gen Ziaur Rahman and Maj-Gen Hussain Mohammad Ershad seized power in a series of coup d'etats. Both men subsequently sought constitutional cover by calling elections.

Since 1986, an increasingly apolitical army has stayed firmly in the barracks. In recent years, their tour of duty while UN peace-keeping won plaudits worldwide, with analysts saying it may be unwilling to trade in that mother lode of goodwill for political gain.

But given the prospect of continuing political chaos where street protests may be called by the newly aggrieved party of Khaleda Zia which has close links with the armed forces, the spectre of the army stepping in to bring order under yet another spell of martial law however is all too real.