[ALOCHONA] (unknown)

Border killings need to be talked and addressed at political level   THE rationale put forth by the directorate general of the Indian Border Security Force on Tuesday for the unabated killings of Bangladeshis in BSF shooting – i.e. they often take place at the dead of night and in self-defence – is preposterous, to say the least. The people of Bangladesh have thus far heard the Rapid Action Battalion and other law enforcement agencies come up with such pretexts for extrajudicial killings within the country.   It is unfortunate that now they are subjected to similar lame excuses from the BSF for the killings of so many Bangladeshis on the border. The fact of the matter is that most of the Bangladeshis killed by the Indian border guards over the years were poor and unarmed people, and not criminals as the BSF chief in particular and the Indian government in general would seemingly like to have us believe. There may have been, and may still be, trespassing by Bangladeshis into the Indian territory and vice versa; however, it is often driven by existential exigency rather than criminal intent.   The people on the Bangladesh-India border share a long history and have come to be inter-dependent over not days or years but centuries. Many people in the border areas, while officially Indians or Bangladeshis, share the same family roots and often cross the border just to meet their relatives on the other side. Regarding such human impulse as criminal intent is inhumane and borders on the criminal.    Be that as it may, as the killing of Bangladeshis by the BSF continues unabated – 64 between January 1 and July 12, according to the human rights coalition Odhikar – despite repeated assurance for an end to such killings by the BSF top brass, at flag meetings and biannual conferences, it is now evident that the problem is beyond the BDR-BSF leaderships to resolve and requires political intervention by the governments of the two countries. Regrettably, New Delhi has traditionally appeared more non-responsive than not to Dhaka's request for amicable resolution of bilateral disputes, be they related to trade and commerce or border and security.   Almost always, the Indian government has sought to bring its weight as a bigger country to bear on the bilateral talks with its smaller neighbours. New Delhi, it seems, is in the habit of viewing everything in terms of power relations. For example, while it shares a border with China, there has hardly been any killing of unarmed civilians on the Sino-Indian border; the deterrence, in this case, is evidently the balance of power between the two countries. However, when it comes to the smaller neighbours, India seems to feel no restraint to bring highhandedness into play.    Ultimately, therefore, the problem boils down to the mindset of the Indian establishment in its dealings with Bangladesh. Hence, Dhaka needs to seek political resolution of the border problems at the summit-level talks with New Delhi. If and when, the Indian government at the centre undergoes a positive attitudinal change vis-à-vis its relations with Bangladesh, it will automatically improve the border situation. Dhaka needs to make New Delhi understand that unabated killings of Bangladeshis in BSF shooting only deepens resentment against India among the people of Bangladesh and that such resentment is detrimental not only to the relations between the two next-door neighbours but also to the greater peace and harmony of the region.   http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jul/16/edit.html

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___