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Thursday, April 22, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Target practice



Target practice

Khamin investigates the alarming trend of Bangladeshi nationals being killed by BSF members at the border areas

Several ministerial-level meetings between Dhaka and Delhi, three Directorate General level talks between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Border Security Force (BSF) and over five ADG level meetings could not bring about a sustainable solution to the wanton killing of Bangladeshi nationals at the border regions by the Indian border security forces, the BSF.

   Even the most recent meeting between the Bangladeshi delegation, comprising of 19 high-powered members led by the BDR DG, and their Indian counterparts at the BSF headquarters on March 7, seems to have fallen flat following the killing of Bangladeshi national Saiful Islam recently.

   Saiful was shot by the BSF at the Boikari border area under the Satkhira sadar upazila on April 1. The murder is the thirteenth this year signifying the double standards maintained by Indian border and concerned authorities despite the assurance by Indian Home secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai that India would stop border shootings, during the six day-long talks in Delhi.

   According to the human rights coalition Odhikar, the BSF killed 98 Bangladeshi nationals last year although according to BDR headquarter records, the tally is at 65. Regardless of these numbers, the BDR did not kill any Indian nationals last year. From 2000 till date, the BSF has killed a total of 843 Bangladeshi nationals, according to Odhikar records.

   Most of these killings are taken at night and taking advantage of the darkness, the BSF always claims that the 'shooting' was necessary to ensure India's sovereignty. Only one BSF soldier served a sentenced through a court-martial, as he had shot a Bangladeshi national in broad daylight.

   Tthree Directorate General level talks between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Border Security Force (BSF) and over five ADG level meetings could not bring about a sustainable solution to the wanton killing of Bangladeshi nationals at the border regions by the Indian border security forces, the BSF.

   Even the most recent meeting between the Bangladeshi delegation, comprising of 19 high-powered members led by the BDR DG, and their Indian counterparts at the BSF headquarters on March 7, seems to have fallen flat following the killing of Bangladeshi national Saiful Islam recently.

   Saiful was shot by the BSF at the Boikari border area under the Satkhira sadar upazila on April 1. The murder is the thirteenth this year signifying the double standards maintained by Indian border and concerned authorities despite the assurance by Indian Home secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai that India would stop border shootings, during the six day-long talks in Delhi.

   According to the human rights coalition Odhikar, the BSF killed 98 Bangladeshi nationals last year although according to BDR headquarter records, the tally is at 65. Regardless of these numbers, the BDR did not kill any Indian nationals last year. From 2000 till date, the BSF has killed a total of 843 Bangladeshi nationals, according to Odhikar records.

   Most of these killings are taken at night and taking advantage of the darkness, the BSF always claims that the 'shooting' was necessary to ensure India's sovereignty. Only one BSF soldier served a sentenced through a court-martial, as he had shot a Bangladeshi national in broad daylight.

   India began fencing its borders from 1980, despite numerous objections from Bangladesh, and finally completed this around 1990. The border killings spiked soon after this.

   'This fencing is the major reason behind BSF's unprovoked firing, which has increased since the nineties,' says Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, of the department of International Relations, Dhaka University.

   Due to border skirmishes, many residents of the border side areas of Fulbaria, Roumari in Kurigram, Tetulia in Panchagarh and other areas, cannot go about their daily farming, agricultural work, cattle-grazing, harvesting and others.

   'While trying to get to our paddy fields on this side of the fence, we are usually stopped by the BSF who threaten to shoot at us,' complains Illias Ali, a 58-year old farmer in Digrir Char border side of Lalmonirhat. 'I still do not know how we are doing anything wrong,' he says.

   Azizul Haqim, a resident of Banglabanda in Panchagarh describes BSF soldiers as crazy. 'They are capable of doing anything!' he says.

   Professor Imtiaz explains: 'India erected the border fence on their own lands and so this is creating a confusion amongst our Bangladeshi nationals who feel that any land on this side of the fence is Bangladeshi,' he says.

   'However, this side that they tread into is the Zero line or at some point is the Indian territory. Awareness amongst border land residents regarding these issues need to be generated to bring about a decrease in border killings,' he says.

   Imtiaz also points out that smuggling is also a major factor in the prevalent conflicts at the border. 'If the government can stop all illegal trafficking, border killings will fall automatically,' he says.

   'Around Rs 3.5 billions worth of goods are smuggled from India to Bangladesh every year,' informs Ahmed to Xtra. 'As this is very important for India, they let these smugglers come into Bangladesh,' he says.

   However, BSF starts shooting when these smugglers try to return to India through the borders again.

   The Indira-Mujib Agreement of 1974 and the Joint Indo-Bangladesh Guidelines of 1975 were two agreements signed by the authorities of India and Bangladesh to dissolve these issues and conflicts at the border.

   According to the Joint Indo-Bangladesh Guidelines of 1975 agreement, if any citizens trespass on the land of the other country, border forces can arrest and try them, or turn them over to the other side following necessary communications. The border guidelines also describe that any existing defence structure within 150 yards of the borders would be demolished.

   'But it is a matter of sorrow that most BSF personnel at the border fail to comply to this agreement due to lack of knowledge,' says Professor Ahmed. 'BSF is at fault here and even when Delhi gives them clear instructions, they seldom follow them through,' he adds.

   'It is a fact that dispute often arises on the ground of fencing,' writes Anand Kumar, an associate fellow at Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses at Delhi Cantonment in India to Xtra. 'Although Bangladesh claims, while citing the 1975 guidelines, that no defence structure is allowed on the border, it is common knowledge that a border fence is no defence structure like the bunkers and other army structures,' he refutes.

   'We have to settle all the border disputes politically and not by bullets,' says Major General Mainul Islam, the former Director General of BDR. 'Through discussion, in a patient and peaceful manner, these disputes can be solved between the two countries,' he says, while also stressing that friendly relations will be strengthened if unnecessary border killings are stopped.

   'The current BDR chief should take a stand rather than try to solve things "politically",' says former BDR chief Major General (retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman. 'He has to tackle the situation in a manner that encourages the BDR, and order counter fire as soon as BSF starts firing,' he says.

   'He should order them to shoot three BSF if one BDR soldier is shot,' he adds.

   'Besides not being the ultimate solution, counter-fire is also a violation of international law like the unprovoked firings by BSF,' explains Dalem Chandra Barman, professor of peace and conflict at Dhaka University. 'It pushes us towards a war when a bilateral discussion can solve the problem,' he says.

   'Such border killings by the BSF are in clear violation of international human rights and even the violation of border agreements,' says Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of Odhikar. 'The agreements of 1974 and 1975, which were signed with Bangladesh, are yet to be implemented by India,' he informs Xtra.

   'India has no political will of solving the problems and we can also say that it has an aggressive stand towards Bangladesh. It is intolerable that a sovereign country's citizens will be killed in such a manner,' he adds.

   The Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) terms the murder of Bangladeshi nationals at the border by the BSF as 'regrettable' while expressing their concern over 'the continuous deprivation of the right to life of the people of Bangladesh', when contacted by Xtra.

   They wrote: 'We have been trying to learn about the situation and, according to the findings of the locally based human rights groups, it has been observed that the identified victims are mostly farmers or cowboys and in some cases alleged carriers of smuggled goods. We also note that even, if someone smuggles any goods (which involves people and agencies of both countries) - regardless whether the particular stuffs are good or bad for the respective societies, it simply does not allow any agency to kill the person(s) without following the due legal process exist in the countries.

   In one hand, the Indian authorities have repeatedly failed to ensure that its border guards stay away from killing its neighbouring nationals like Bangladesh. On the other, the authorities of Bangladesh have ignored the necessity of protecting its citizens from the killings committed by the Indian BSF though there have been discussions and declarations at the bilateral level to stop such killings.'

   The border killings are also catalysed by the history between BDR and BSF. According to BDR sources and experts, ever since Bangladesh's liberation in 1971, India has occupied a significant number of Bangladeshi land around the border area.

   One burning example of occupied territory is Berubari, located in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. India took over the territory through BSF.

   Bangladesh has already recovered the Padua Border Operation Post (BOP) territory from India on April 16 and 17, 2001, after 30 years of illegal occupation by India. However, 230 acres of land near the Sylhet-Tamabil border is still with India.

   To avenge the loss of Padua, around 400 BSF, including black cat members from Indian military, illegally occupied Bangladesh's Boraibari BOP in Roumari of Kurigram on April 18, 2001. The operation claimed numerous BDR lives and left many BDR soldiers and civilians wounded.

   'After learning about the Boraibari BOP incident, I ordered the Netrokona and Mymensingh BDR battalions to move toward the freshly occupied BOP on the same day,' reminisces Major Rahman, the BDR chief at the time. 'We were able to recover the occupied land from BSF that day as BSF lost shamefully,' he says.

   He informs Xtra that the border killings, ever since, are really 'delayed revenge' by the BSF. 'This is why, the death toll of Bangladeshi nationals has mounted following those incidents at Boraibari and Padua,' he reasons.

   Article 3 of the Indira-Mujib agreement of 1974, signed by Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on May 16 in 1974 in a bid to solve border conflicts, states that when areas are transferred, the people in these areas shall be given the right of living where they are, as nationals of the state. The agreement had also stressed the completion of pending demarcation of the boundary, exchange of territory through mutual agreement, no disturbance of the status quo and maintenance of peaceful condition at the border regions.

   Necessary instructions in this regard were supposed to be issued to the local authorities on the border by the two countries' government following the agreement. However, India has not implemented the agreement, 36 years after its signing.

   Experts and politically-concerned people feel that both the agreements require immediate rectification in order to reduce border killing and ensure proper justice to families of those killed by BSF over the years.

   'The rectification of both agreements is imminent for Bangladesh's betterment and to ensure that the country is no longer victimised by India. The killings at the border will fall if the government takes initiatives at rectification and at generating awareness amongst border-region Bangladeshis about the fences,' says Professor Ahmed.

   The AHRC stresses that both countries should contemplate on the mindsets of the members of the law-enforcement agencies and paramilitary forces, particularly the border guards (whether it is repressive, aggressive or responsible) and the socio-economic status, including the capabilities of the people and the effective initiatives adopted and implemented by the states and how these lead to a secured environment of livelihoods of the ordinary people as well as their attitudes.

   The former BDR chief Rahman also feels that if amongst the BSF personnel assigned on the Bangladesh border, people of Bengali origin were given priority, it could also help at reducing the number of Bangladeshi deaths. 'The communication is a barrier,' he explains.

   Rahman also cites the findings of international relations experts that most BSF soldiers are usually relocated from India-Pakistan border and placed to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Due to the lack of proper training and education, these personnel do not find any difference in the defence strategies and therefore, shoot at the slightest incident.

   'Recommending the training of lower ranking BSF soldiers, encouraging friendly behaviour amongst them and discussions, are not really the solutions,' he says. 'We have to take a bold stand through the BDR, against BSF's killings,' he adds.

   'If we continue to consider them as our Dada (elder brother), they will continue to impose illegal and inhuman actions on us,' he stresses. 'Even if we have any new agreements or rectify old ones, India will be the first to violate it,' he speculates.

   However, Maj Gen Mainul, who was replaced as BDR chief only last week, believes that there is no alternative to the solution, without discussion. 'We are trying to solve these problems and hopefully we will in sometime,' he concluded.

   Bad blood
   · Around 13 Bangladeshi nationals killed by BSF at the border this year
   · BDR did not kill any Indian nationals this year
   · BSF has killed around 843 Bangladeshi nationals since 2000
   · Most shootings take place at night
   · Border killings escalated following the construction of fence during the nineties
   · Ordinary Bangladeshis fail to distinguish between the demarcation line and the fence
   · Around Rs 3.5 billion worth of goods smuggled from India to Bangladesh every year
 


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