Gen Moeen U Ahmed addresses public after a 5-year hiatus

Former army chief Moeen U Ahmed, who was the former caretaker government mandarin, has made a public address after a roughly five-year hiatus.

Moeen, who is suffering from cancer, was also seen posing for photograph and exchanging greetings with visitors in the two-day conference in Florida from Apr 4.

The general was then the chief of Bangladesh Army when the caretaker government, which came into office following a 2007 state of emergency, was believed to have acted as the front office of the powerful military.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed was the then chief advisor.

The interim administration remained in power for two years although they were constitutionally mandated to remain in charge for three months.

The time saw both Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia being arrested on graft charges.

Both Fakhruddin and Moeen are still criticised by the two major political parties for their roles during the rule.

Gen Moeen went to Florida with his wife on June 14, 2009 after retiring from the army a few days after Awami League took office in earlier in the year.

He was summoned by a parliamentary sub-committee several times to explain their actions in violence on university students and teachers in 2007.

He, however, did not turn up but e-mailed written statements denying involvement in the atrocities.

During his stay in Florida, he was diagnosed with cancer and has been living in New York since then.

He received permanent residency a few years back and has been under treatment at a New York hospital.

However, the general did not appear ill at the programme. Although he attended social programmes, he did not make a general address in the time between.

In his speech, Moeen said, “Rabindranath (Tagore) is not only the poet of Bengal, he is the poet of the whole world. His poetry, literature reverberated with the urge for freedom of humanity and reforming societies.”

Organisers of the programme gifted him with a traditional scarf as a sign of honour.