March 06, 2009
Bangladesh: The Mystery of a Mutiny BY Joe Rubin
David Montero is no stranger to Bangladesh -- he lived and reported there between 2004 and 2005. But he had only been back in the country for a few hours earlier this week when a full-scale mutiny by a branch of the Army brought the already chaotic capital of Dhaka to the verge of civil war.
Montero was in Bangladesh to report for FRONTLINE/World on corruption and bribery, a problem that he describes as epidemic there. Why rank and file soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles went on a killing spree that left at least 56 of their senior officers dead, many hastily buried in mass graves, is still shrouded in mystery. But as Montero explains over webcam from the newsroom of The Daily Star in Dhaka, resentment over the alleged lavish and corrupt lifestyles enjoyed by the Rifles' leaders was at the root of the violence.
Others reasons are surfacing as to why this happened, says Montero, who describes a nation shocked and perplexed by the attack.
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