| HIDDEN AGENDA' CLOUDS BDR-BSF TALKS Regional Task Force in the offing under guise of joint patrolling M. Shahidul Islam The stain and stench of slaughtered BDR officers' corpses are yet to be erased fully while, in the very Peelkhana compound, a high-stake strategic gambling has occurred during the BDR-BSF meeting of July 12-14, casting dark shadows over the defence and national security policies of the nation. Under the guise of activating joint patrolling at the Indo-Bangladesh borders, the governments of India and Bangladesh have made a radical strategic move in that meeting to create a Regional Task Force (RTF). Although the blue print for the RTF's creation has been in the shelf for nearly two years now, massive public opposition in Bangladesh stalled its execution despite the ruling party (AL) having made the issue an integral part of its pre-election agenda. Sources say the RTF is an integral part of a strategic vision for the region, which was devised in 2007 by an officially sponsored Delhi-based think tank to checkmate the rise of the Maoists in Nepal and the Indian North Eastern States on one hand, and the Islamists in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the other. Faced with serious setbacks in the wake of the ongoing turmoil in Nepal and the ferocious Islamic resistance shown recently by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan against a new military offensive by the NATO-led forces and the Pakistani military combined, Delhi has decided to settle its agenda with respect to Bangladesh without further delay. This is what had led to the hurried move to activate joint patrolling at the 4,300 km long Bangladesh-India borders. The strategy is being executed in disguise of initiating joint patrolling at common borders due to the serious opposition in Bangladesh to the ideal of the RTF's creation, and, no other regional countries being willing to participate in such a venture. BDR-BSF talks And, that is why, during the three - day- long border talks, one particular agenda sidetracked many others. Sources say the discussion on initiating joint patrolling at common borders was not in the formal agenda. It came as a surprise from the DG of the BSF on the third day, July 14, prior to the conclusion of the meeting. The BDR-BSF meeting was headed by BDR's Director General, Major General Mainul Islam (with a 22 member team) from Bangladesh side while the BSF was represented by its DG, Mahendra Lal Kumawat, who headed an 18 member Indian delegation. As is usual in such talks, both sides agreed to preserve peace at the border by enhancing vigilance against smugglers, arms-peddlers, insurgents and militants. "The talks were successful and we've reached an agreement to carry forward our activities through mutual cooperation," Maj. Gen. Mainul Islam told reporters at the conclusion of the meeting on Tuesday. Beef of the discussion The most radical aspect of the discussion was the proposition made by the DG of the BSF for joint coordinated patrolling along the border, which he said would 'help drastically cut down crimes and civilian killings.' Among the other significant issues included in the agenda was the request for exchange of alleged criminals and Bangladesh's special plea to stop killing of innocent people at bordering areas by the BSF; a routine act which the DG of the BDR termed as sheer 'murder of the innocents" while the BSF side dubbed it as killing of "miscreants and criminals." With respect to random shooting of Bangladeshis at bordering areas, the BDR claimed in the discussions that the BSF personnel had shot dead 55 "unarmed persons" this year alone. "We told the BSF that they should not kill unarmed men only on charges of trespassing - its murder," a senior BDR official said. Observers say it is time for India to know that the punishment for alleged criminality, if that proves true, is not wanton death by firing squad. Every human being has the right to tell his side of the story before being shot at and killed. However, in an exchange of list of wanted criminals, the Indian side gave a list of 77 criminals, including names of insurgent leaders who are allegedly leaders of separatist movement in northeast states of India. The Bangladeshi side, likewise, handed over to the BSF a list of 1,227 criminals, including names of some Islamic militants. Who decides? The BDR is under the executive control of the Ministry of Home. The two Ministers responsible for the ministry have been out of the country for weeks. Minister Sahara Khatun is on medical leave while her deputy, State Minister Tanjim Sohel Taj, had either resigned, or remains on a mysterious ex-Bangladesh leave for an unknown period of time. Sources say the PM is the person who handles decisive matters of the ministry in the absence of the two Ministers, although none is aware of any official notification having mandated the ministerial responsibilities to any other ministers, inclusive of the PM. In this context the decision to jointly patrol the common borders raises concerns among experts and observers. That aside, there is another major reason. The most crucial issue for Bangladesh at the bordering areas being related to smuggling from India to Bangladesh - which has been harming seriously local productivity of goods and services inside Bangladesh - there is no prospect that the BDR can work as effectively as it did in the past if the current system of manning borders from the Bangladesh side of the zero line, independently, changes into a joint patrolling by members of the two forces. One may also argue, if India did have in mind a genuine desire to introduce joint patrolling to curb trans-border crimes, why did it spend over US $3 billion to fence the entire border? Which side of the fence the joint patrolling will occur now? RTF in disguise Sources say the idea of joint patrolling of borders is tied to the pre-election agenda of the ruling party (AL) to cobble a RTF, if voted to power. And, that is exactly what seems to be the case. For, under the functional structure of the joint patrolling by border forces of the two nations, a joint command has to be established first, leading to preparing a Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E) with specific details of the (1) composition of the joint patrol, (2) mandate of the force, and, (3) the manpower to be inducted into it; inclusive of delineated command hierarchy, force strength at macro level and the commensurable rank and status of commanders from both sides. As none is convinced that the DG of the BDR is empowered to make such a major decision alone - and, the two concerned Ministers being absent from the country for reasons that are at best murky - people are bound to be in a state of suspense with respect to who did decide to agree to such a proposition of India, and why now? At the same time, it is being suspected that the PM might try to squeeze little concession from the Indian PM, Manmohan Singh, on the sensitive Tipaimukh dam issue when the two leaders meet on the sideline during the NAM summit in Cairo, by invoking her success story in cobbling the RTF in disguise. If that is true, the PM must have ordered the initiation of joint border patrolling. Why now? The decision to introduce joint patrolling at the border comes at a time when the existing BDR is on the throes of being restructured, re-named and re-uniformed. Sources say the new border force - the blue print for which is now pending for final approval before the PM - will be initially commanded by a Major General from the army, but, its regional components will eventually be commanded by officers mostly from the police, or to be selected in the manner the Leaders/officers of the Jatio Rakhi Bahini (JRB) were selected during 1972-75. That measure will reduce our border force to the level of the BSF; which is unfortunate, degrading and conceptually dangerous for a militarily weaker nation. A comparatively smaller force can only amplify its deterrent power by being qualitatively different. Then, there are other dangers. As most soldiers of the newly created border force will be recruited afresh - given that thousands of BDR members will have faced trial for mutiny in the near future while much more are leaving jobs voluntarily amidst adverse circumstances marred by rampant suicide, allegation of insubordination and routine death by torture in custody - they will have little motivation to uphold national interest if allowed to mingle with Indian forces from the very outset. Yet, it will be those new force members who will constitute the bulk of the joint patrolling manpower when it is activated, resulting in a sea change in the existing paradigms of national defence and national security. Ironically, the mission of the new border force will be to spare Indian forces of all the worries at the Indo- Bangladesh borders; so that Delhi could effectively focus to consolidate its geopolitical tentacles with China and Pakistan in particular, and, emerge as a global power sooner than expected. In the final analysis, this is a fantastic way to help India grow stronger at the cost of major compromises in our embedded concepts of national security, political and economic sovereignty. This is a threat to the existence of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation. |
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