by Shahidul Islam Chowdhury
Why Bangladesh should say 'no' to US-NATO request for troops in Afghanistan
THE United States-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's decision to bypass the political government and request the Bangladesh Army headquarters, directly, for deployment of troops in Afghanistan has reportedly annoyed the Sheikh Hasina administration.
The foreign secretary, Mohamed Mirajul Quayes, called in the charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Bangladesh, Nicholas Dean, to the foreign ministry on October 12, to convey to him the Bangladesh government's reaction to the NATO request made recently in a letter to the army headquarters in Dhaka ('NATO asks army to take part in Afghan operations', New Age, October 13).
The government feels NATO could and should have used formal diplomatic channels to request the highest political authorities for deployment of Bangladesh troops in Afghanistan, the foreign secretary is reported to have told the US diplomat during the meeting.
The NATO move to bypass the government and contact the army headquarters directly, albeit in contravention with diplomatic norms and conventions, is hardly surprising, though. After all, a section of the government officials, stationed at home and abroad, seems to have made it a habit of officially and unofficially communicating their decisions and intents to foreigners, circumventing formal diplomatic channels and thus violating the rules of business ('Ministries often talk with foreign missions bypassing MoFA', New Age, July 10).
Article 41(2) of the Vienna convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, which entered into force on April 24, 1964, says: 'All official business with the receiving State entrusted to the mission by the sending state shall be conducted with or through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or such other ministry as may be agreed.'
Article 15 of the Rules of Business of the Bangladesh government says that no ministry shall, without previous consultation with the foreign ministry, dispose of a case which affects the foreign relations of the country.
Article 29 of the Rules of Business says a foreign country or a foreign mission in Bangladesh or an international organisation shall normally be conducted through the foreign ministry, except in matters for utilisation of agreed upon foreign assistance concerning the ministry.
Article 19(28) of the Allocation of Business of the government says the foreign ministry is responsible for liaison with international organisations and matters relating to treaties and agreements with other countries and world bodies.
Article 15 of the Rules of Business of the Bangladesh government says that no ministry shall, without previous consultation with the foreign ministry, dispose of a case which affects the foreign relations of the country.
Article 29 of the Rules of Business says a foreign country or a foreign mission in Bangladesh or an international organisation shall normally be conducted through the foreign ministry, except in matters for utilisation of agreed upon foreign assistance concerning the ministry.
Article 19(28) of the Allocation of Business of the government says the foreign ministry is responsible for liaison with international organisations and matters relating to treaties and agreements with other countries and world bodies.
It all began when, according to a foreign ministry news release issued on September 25, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C Holbrooke, in a meeting with the Bangladesh foreign minister, Dipu Moni, in New York on September 23, sought 'any kind of help like deployment combat troops, economic and development assistance or training law enforcement agencies.'
A few days letter, the Taliban in Afghanistan warned Dhaka against sending troops to the war-ravaged South Asian country.NATO's direct communications with the armed headquarters seems to prove that the US, which has been engaged in the 'war on terror' for almost a decade now, has become desperate to engage and 'use' Bangladesh troops in Afghanistan.
But the question is not only about the way that NATO, a military alliance formed after the Second World War and tidied up to address security concerns of North America and 26 European countries, has made the request for troops; other issues are involved, too. The decision to accept or reject the request for deployment of Bangladesh troops abroad under NATO command demands political, ideological, constitutional and strategic considerations.
According to the NATO website (www.nato.int), the organisation is a political and military alliance that 'has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis management operations,' carried out under the Washington Treaty and/or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
Article 5 of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the NATO member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.
Bangladesh, which has opted to maintain an independent diplomatic stance, is not a member of NATO. So it has no political, legal and ethical obligation to place its troops under NATO.Moreover, one of the fundamental principles of Bangladesh's state policy is promotion of international peace, security and solidarity. Article 25 (1) of its constitution decrees:
'The State shall base its international relations on the principles of respect for national sovereignty and equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, peaceful settlement of international disputes, and respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter, and on the basis of those principles shall —
(a) strive for the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and for general and complete disarmament;
(b) uphold the right of every people freely to determine and build up its own social, economic and political system by ways and means of its own free choice; and
(c) support oppressed peoples throughout the world waging a just struggle against imperialism, colonialism or racialism.
'The State shall base its international relations on the principles of respect for national sovereignty and equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, peaceful settlement of international disputes, and respect for international law and the principles enunciated in the United Nations Charter, and on the basis of those principles shall —
(a) strive for the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and for general and complete disarmament;
(b) uphold the right of every people freely to determine and build up its own social, economic and political system by ways and means of its own free choice; and
(c) support oppressed peoples throughout the world waging a just struggle against imperialism, colonialism or racialism.
In his first speech at the UN General Assembly on September 24, 1974, Bangladesh's founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman clearly mentioned the state policy for promotion of international peace and security. The current prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, who happens to be the daughter of Sheikh Mujib, reiterated the stance in her latest speech delivered at the UNGA on September 27.
Another important aspect is that Bangladesh is a member of the 118-member Non-Aligned Movement apparently to advocate a middle course for states in the developing world between the Western and Eastern blocs in the Cold War. The purpose of the organisation as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure 'the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries' in their 'struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.'
Bangladesh is also a member of the Group of 77 at the United Nations, a coalition of developing nations and the founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Membership of these blocs demands that Bangladesh should not unilaterally decide to deploy troops in Afghanistan under NATO command.
It is not that Bangladesh does not send its troops abroad. In recent years, Bangladesh has played a significant role in international peacekeeping activities. Over 10,000 Bangladeshi military personnel were deployed overseas on peacekeeping operations as of November 2009. Under UN auspices, Bangladeshi troops have served or are serving in Sierra Leone, Somalia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kuwait, Ethiopia/Eritrea, Kosovo, Timor-Leste, Georgia, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Western Sahara, Bosnia, and Haiti.
Bangladeshi troops were also part of the multinational force in occupied Kuwait in 1990 to free the country from Iraqi invasion. Bangladesh responded quickly to President Bill Clinton's 1994 request for troops and police for the multinational force for Haiti and provided the largest non-US contingent. In both Kuwait and Haiti, the multinational forces had approval from the UN Security Council.
However, Bangladesh did not send troops for the latest US-led invasion of Iraq, which touched criticism across the world including the US and the United Kingdom.The case is not that the Bangladeshi army personnel have not gone to Afghanistan. Yes, some of them are there in blue helmets as military observer of the UN. They carry gun only to protect themselves, not to fight against Afghans.
The question is why the US has become desperate to engage Bangladesh troops in a war it itself has instigated. It is probably because the US government has faced crisis and criticism at home as more and more American soldiers lose their lives in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.The toll of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan passed 1,000 in May 2010. Having taken nearly seven years to reach the first 500 dead, the war killed the second 500 in fewer than two (New York Times, May 18).
Several members of the US-led forced including the UK have already announced that they would withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.Foreign and military experts believe the government should say 'no' to the US and the NATO requests for sending troops to Afghanistan in support of the US-led imperialist and occupation forces, as sending troops there will be a gross violation of Article 25 of the Bangladesh constitution.
Presence of Bangladeshi troops under the US and NATO commands will also invite diplomatic trouble by sending 'wrong' signals to bilateral and multilateral quarters on whether Bangladesh has 'abandoned' the charters of the NAM, G-77 and SAARC charters.The most important question is whether Bangladesh, upon request from a third country and a military alliance, can be part of a force, even if in an 'international' or 'multinational' helmet, invading to another country, that too a South Asian neighbour.
The president, Zillur Rahman, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the ultimate authority to say 'yes' or 'no' to the US and NATO requests to send troops to Afghanistan. However, article 48 of the constitution says the president 'shall act in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister', who is also in charge of the defence ministry, 'in the exercise of all his functions' except the appointments of the prime minister and the chief justice.
So the onus is on the government in general and the prime minister in particular to give 'proper advice' to the president; and the 'proper advice' should be to say 'no' to the US and NATO requests to send troops to Afghanistan.
Shahidul Islam Chowdhury is a diplomatic correspondent of New Age.
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