India to install sensors, floodlights along Bangla border
Syed Zarir Hussain, Indo-Asian News Service
Agartala, July 30, 2005|19:35 IST
India may soon import advanced sensors and other gadgets from the US to check the influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants into the northeast region through a semi-porous border.
A Border Security Force (BSF) official said a team of experts from the federal home ministry is expected to visit the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, US, to shop for sophisticated electronic devices to arm paramilitary frontier guards in effectively checking infiltration from Bangladesh.
"Sensors devised at the Sandia National Laboratories are being used in the United States to check cross-border infiltration and the team of experts would be exploring the possibilities of using the same along the border with Bangladesh," a senior BSF commander told IANS requesting anonymity.
India and Bangladesh share a 4,095-km border, of which nearly half falls within the northeastern states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram - a vast stretch of the border remaining unfenced with concrete pillars dividing the two countries.
"The idea is to see if the sensors can be used along the international border with Assam and Tripura, the two main routes for Bangladeshi infiltration," the commander said.
India's home ministry is also planning to put floodlights in certain vulnerable border areas along Assam to ensure effective checking of infiltration. "The border is long and the terrain very difficult with infiltration normally taking place during the night. Proper lighting facilities and advanced technologies could help in better surveillance," another BSF official said.
There are no estimates as to how many illegal migrants are residing in the northeast - identifying a Bangladeshi from an Indian border villager is almost impossible as people on either side of the border resemble physically and speak the same dialect.
Many of the illegal Bangladeshis work as rickshaw pullers, in brick kilns, and other menial jobs, particularly in Assam and Tripura. For hundreds of rickshaw pullers in Tripura, it was always breakfast in Bangladesh, lunch in India, and dinner again back home in Bangladesh.
Hordes of Bangladeshi nationals enter Tripura's capital Agartala early in the morning, work for the whole day and return to their homes crossing the unfenced border the two countries share.
The nearest village in Bangladesh is Akhaura - barely 1.5 km away from the heart of Agartala. Most of the people who come from across the border prefer pulling rickshaws that they hire on a daily basis, while some do odd jobs in Agartala.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7598_14...00500020007.htm
<b>Bangladesh blocks superhighway project</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->5 August 2005: The Asian superhighway project has hit a roadblock, because China has convinced Bangladesh that its trade interests would be better served by linking Chittagong with Kunming, but plans have been finalised in India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Singapore to take it through Dhaka. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--emo&:thumbdown--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbsdownsmileyanim.gif' /><!--endemo-->
They want to stay poor so that they can stay in power. What a short sightness?
India, Bangladesh agree to set up coordinated border patrolling
Dhaka, Aug. 6 (PTI): Seeking to put behind the recent strain in bilateral ties, India and Bangladesh today agreed to set up coordinated border patrolling and finalise an extradition treaty but differences persisted on New Delhi's concerns on illegal migration from this country.
External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, on his first visit to Dhaka after the UPA Government assumed office last year, told reporters at a joint press meet with his Bangladesh counterpart Morshed Khan, that he had taken up India's concerns regarding illegal migration from Bangladesh and proposed a high-level meeting to discuss the issue.
"We do not agree that there is any illegal migration from Bangladesh," Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Hemayatuddin said, adding there were mechanisms for identifying illegal people on each other's country. He said Dhaka has "taken note" of India's proposal and there will be further discussion on it.
On the issue of UN reforms, including expansion of the Security Council, Bangladesh said New Delhi's request for its support to India's candidature for a permanent seat as also the G-4 draft resolution would receive "active and friendly consideration", from it, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, said.
The Bangladesh Foreign Secretary assured that his country's territory would not be allowed to be used for terrorism and extremism against any neighbouring nation, including India.
He said an extradition treaty was under the consideration of both countries.
Saran said there was discussion on both the extradition treaty as well as a Mutual Legal Assistance treaty and Bangladesh assured of its active consideration and India hoped these would be concluded at the earliest.
Describing Natwar Singh as a "dear friend" and his visit a "milestone," Morshed Khan said the two sides did not "shy away from discussing any issue."
Khan said they also discussed the SAARC process and reaffirmed the commitment to further integration of the region.
Singh's trip is an important build-up to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here in November for the twice-deferred SAARC summit.
Observing that India attaches the highest importance to its ties with Bangladesh, Natwar Singh said "we are committed to strengthen the relationship through dialogue on the basis of friendship, trust and understanding."
"Even when there were some strains in our relationship, there was no affect on our personal regard for each other," he said.
The External Affairs Minister said the two sides had "useful and detailed" exchange of views on issues of mutual interest.
Both sides have agreed on the need for the best management of their borders, Singh said.
"We also agreed that it is necessary to check these illegal movements and activities which are only resulting in loss of revenues to both governments, and the criminalisation of the border and exacerbating relations between the two border guarding forces," he said.
Singh said while there were "some differences" in the interpretation of the 1975 guidelines, both sides were committed to maintaining a peaceful, trouble-free border.
According to the 1975 border guidelines, any existing defence structure within 150 yards of the borders would be demolished.
Describing his visit as "eventful", Singh hoped that it would provide the necessary impetus for other high-level exchanges between the two countries.
On threats posed by terrorism, Saran said the global scourge has to be fought collectively, "this is no longer India's problem or Bangladesh's problem. It is a global phenomenon."
He said India and Bangladesh have a common understanding and strong mutual interests in curbing terrorist activities, particularly the misuse of Indo-Bangla borders by elements which are inimical to the interests of both countries.
"We have to join hands in order to deal with this problem," he said observing that this understanding came out clearly during the talks between the two Foreign Ministers. Singh and Khan first had a 45-minute one-on-one meeting which was followed by delegation-level talks lasting nearly two hours.
Singh said he will deliver a letter from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to Bangladesh Premier Khaleeda Zia, when he calls on her tomorrow. He will also be meeting leader of Opposition Sheikh Hasina, and other leaders.
The Indian delegation included Foreign Secretary Saran, and High Commissioner Veena Sikri. Terming his visit as "memorable", Singh said the two sides had covered a lot of ground.
Natwar Singh said history and geography have laid the foundation on which interests of the people of the two countries can be promoted. "We both agreed that we must work together to realise our destiny."
The Indian side highlighted the importance of greater connectivity and opening of more land customs stations on the Indo-Bangladesh border in order to enhance people-to-people contacts and economic exchanges.
Singh said the two sides also discussed the establishment of more bus services between different states in Bangladesh and India to facilitate the movement of people.
The External Affairs Minister also said that under a cultural agreement more scholarships would be given to Bangladeshi students and teachers.
As part of high-level contacts, Water Resources Minister P R Dasmunshi, would be visiting Dhaka at the end of this month to discuss cooperation in water resources. This will be followed by visits of Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar.
The two sides also discussed the proposed Myanmar-Bangladesh-India gas pipeline which in New Delhi's opinion was economic logic of benefits accepted by all the three countries, Singh said.
Singh will be meeting Bangladesh Finance Minister Saifur Rahman.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000...061801.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Natwar gives 500 additional scholarships in B'desh
Press Trust of India
Dhaka, August 6, 2005|20:31 IST
India on Saturday announced 500 additional scholarships to Bangladesh school students besides 100 for undergraduates and decided to gift 620 computers to schools in Bangladesh.
Six hundred Bangladesh teachers will be trained by India over the next two years by expanding a programme under which 250 teachers were trained on computer skills in 2003-04, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh told a press conference.
The facility for students is in addition to the 100 scholarships offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the training under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme already availed of by Bangladesh students, he said.
The two sides also signed the Cultural Exchange Programme for 2005-08 envisaging increased interaction in the fields of art and culture, youth affairs and sports and mass media, in the presence of Singh, on a three-day visit here, and his Bangladeshi counterpart.
http://hindustantimes.com/news/7598_1454...020001.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In short Natwar has become a nutcase.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Centre must ask Bangladesh to dismantle terror camps: CPI(M)
<<<<Ranchi, Aug. 6 (PTI): The CPI(M) today said the Centre should ask Bangladesh to take urgent steps in dismantling "<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>67 terrorist camps"</span> situated in that country.
Asking the Centre to speak to Dhaka, Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, said the necessity of dismantling the terrorist camps to maintain peace in the Northeast region of the country should be made known to Bangladesh.
"The focus is on Kashmir and it is clear that terror camps exist in Pakistan. But it is also a matter of concern 67 such camps in Bangladesh", Brinda, party in-charge of Jharkhand, told a press conference here.
"The Tripura Government has sent a report to the Centre on the problem. A list should be prepared to deport people who are illegally staying in the country after crossing the Bangladesh border...The economic condition of our people will suffer if urgent steps are not taken," she said.
To a question on how the Manmohan Singh Government was handling Pakistan and Kashmir, the Rajya Sabha member said it was "certainly better than the previous NDA Government which had failed on all fronts."
"I hope that efforts in this regard are successful," she added. >>>
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<b>CPIM is saying that there are terror camps in Bangladesh and even then Natwarlal is doing Hindi- Bangladeshi Bhai Bhai...what's wrong with this guy?????</b>
08-07-2005, 07:18 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-07-2005, 07:23 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Fence hits deportation </b>
Navin Upadhyay / New Delhi
DHAKA REFUSES TO RECOGNISE ITS OWN FLOCK--------- Raising a fence along the Indo-Bangladesh border was considered a foolproof way to stop infiltration. But now, the Centre feels that the fence is coming in the way of pushing back the same infiltrators.
Admitting the failure of diplomatic efforts to convince Bangladesh to allow deportation of illegal migrants, the Government is veering around to the view that coercive methods are the only option available to deal with the situation, described by Supreme Court as "external aggression."
In an affidavit to Supreme Court last month, the Central Government had said that "Bangladesh refuses to accept the infiltrators as its citizens since they don't have any valid travel documents. Therefore, they can only be pushed back through the porous border."
The fences, the affidavit said, are turning out be a major hurdle in deporting infiltrators. "A pushback is becoming difficult as a substantial portion of the border is being fenced leaving lesser space for carrying put such operations."
Another difficulty in pushing back the infiltrators is the fierce obstruction by Bangladesh Riles (BDR). "The pushback efforts are being resisted by BDR which includes offensive firing which results in stand-offs between the BSF and the BDR. Protest notes are also being lodged against the pushback by BDR," the affidavit said.
It added that a meeting of the Committees of Secretaries, convened on April 25, had decided on a multi-pronged approach to deal with the situation. The meeting decided that efforts be made to convince the Government of Bangladesh through diplomatic channels to take back their nationals living illegally in India.
Conceding that all such efforts have led nowhere, the meeting also decided that the Home Ministry would evolve a more practical policy and procedure after inter-ministerial consultation, keeping in mind the experience of deportation.
On the diplomatic level, however, the Centre has decided to keep the discussions with Bangladesh authorities on to resolve the impasse on illegal migrants. The Ministry of External Affairs has requested the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to schedule an early meeting to discuss the issue, the affidavit said.
In the letter, MEA reminds the High Commissioner that "the problem has been discussed at political level and official levels. However, since the problem persists causing grave concern, it is proposed that an early meeting may be scheduled to discuss all aspects of the issues at an appropriately high level. The modalities of such meetings may be settled through diplomatic channels."
http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=1
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Why don't the moron's put gates with locks at short distances from each other, they can push out the infiltrators and close the gate, seems like they are making up all kinds of excuses to keep their illegal muslim vote bank.
BSF is busy in smuggling, Commie and Congress only care about vote bank, Who cares whether India go to hell.
BSF knows how to push illegals, its just an excuse. More than 60% border is still not fenced, kick these illegals through those area. I can't believe BDR are bordering whole border, they don't have such a huge force.
India to go ahead with fencing of border with Bangladesh
Dhaka, Aug. 7 (PTI): Making it clear that India would go ahead with the fencing of the over 4000-km border with Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, today said this would help curb activities like smuggling and illegal migration and contribute to peace and tranquility for people living in these areas.
"A strong fence is useful for both sides to achieve their common objectives for mutual benefit," Singh , who is on a three-day visit here, said in an interview to Bangla daily 'Jugantor'.
Due to the porous nature of the borders, there was considerable cross-border criminal activity which included illegal trade in arms and explosives, counterfeit currency, trafficking in narcotics and trafficking of women and children, he said, noting these problems posed a threat to the social and economic well-being of both India and Bangladesh.
"We have seen that in those areas where a fence is in place, there has been a sharp decline in illegal cross-border activities," he said.
There have been differences on the 1975 guidelines under which defensive structures within 150 yards of the borders have to be demolished.
"The border management authorities in both our countries share the common objectives of ensuring peace and tranquility and facilitating interaction between our two friendly people while doing their utmost to prevent illegal cross-border activity," Singh said.
On the proposed gas pipeline between Myanmar and India via Bangladesh, Singh said Indian experts were examining the most efficient and feasible ways of importing gas from Myanmar.
"The gas pipeline through Bangladesh is one of the options being actively considered. This is a commercial project to be implemented by an international consortium," he said.
Singh discussed the tri-nation project during talks with Bangladesh Finance Minister Saifur Rahman. Dhaka has agreed in principle to allow the 290-km pipeline through its territory but has imposed certain conditionalities.
It wants India to establish a direct road linking Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan and address the issue of trade imbalance.
Rahman said the ministries concerned would hold detailed discussions with the Indian side to make the pipeline project a reality in line with Bangladesh's position on the issues. "We have to see mutual benefit of both the countries and that is the main point to strengthen relations further."
Asked whether the twice-deferred SAARC Summit, now slated to be held here in November, would be postponed, the Minister said the dates have already been announced.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, "is eagerly looking forward to visiting Dhaka for the Summit," he said.
Singh said SAARC has a very important role to play in the comprehensive development of South Asia in this globalised economy and in fostering an atmosphere of mutual trust and harmony among the member states.
India, Singh said, would like to see SAARC evolve into an effective organisation, through which regional cooperation in social, economic, cultural, educational, scientific, technological and other agreed spheres could be facilitated and infrastructural development promoted for mutual benefit.
"SAARC countries should concentrate on the benefits of cooperation to achieve collective prosperity," he stressed.
Observing that the northeastern states of India were fast becoming an important bridgehead in its trade relations with Myanmar and China, he said the long Indo-Bangla boundary was a "border of friendship and an open door for unhindered cooperation".
The re-opening of the trade route from China to Sikkim through Nathu La pass also threw open immense trade possibilities between China and India, and beyond this, for regional cooperation, the minister said.
Contending that integration of infrastructure in South Asia was essential to generate and sustain growth levels necessary to achieve mutual prosperity, he said "we must learn from the experiences in cooperation not only in other parts of the world but also in our own. But European Union and ASEAN offer outstanding examples".
"India and Bangladesh would benefit from modernisation and improvement of our shared river, road and rail linkages," he said.
The Minister was of the view that a bilateral Free trade Agreement would lead to an expansion of trade with significant mutual benefits on the lines of a similar India-Sri Lanka FTA which has triggered exponential growth in Sri Lanka's exports to India.
On the proposed river linking project, Singh said this was still at a conceptual stage. India's focus was on the southern Peninsular rivers, which do not affect water flows in Bangladesh, as they originate in central and western India and then flow into the sea.
"If at any stage, we do consider any proposal affecting river flows into Bangladesh, India will consult and fully take into consideration the view of Bangladesh," he said, adding this assurance has been conveyed at the highest level by Indian leaders to their counterparts in Bangladesh.
"It is important that we avoid sensationalising the issue," he said.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001...071427.htm
Indians wiped out by Bangladeshis on Bengal's voters list ......................
.........................<b>future name of West Bengal...BANGLISTAN</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Udayan Namboodiri / New Delhi
The voters' list of Satkhira Sadar in Bangladesh's Satkhira district has hundreds of names that match the one for West Bengal's Gaighata Assembly constituency. Even the names of the fathers of the voters match.So is this coincidence or just one manifestation of a deeper malaise that afflicts West Bengal's democracy?
"That is for the Government of India to find out," said Mamata Banerjee in an interview to The Pioneer on Sunday. "As a political party we did our best. Only the intelligence agencies can get confirmation. Or Bangladesh has to be asked to agree to a joint inquiry."
Â
On Monday, when Mamata, along with NDA convenor George Fernandes and BJP's overseer for West Bengal affairs Rajnath Singh call on President APJ Abdul Kalam, they will carry along with them the voters' lists of these two adjacent districts separated by an international border. It will easily be clear that a large number of people living along West Bengal's 2,216-km-long border with Bangladesh are enjoying dual citizenship with voting rights in both countries.
The name of Gaighata has featured several times in the Bangladeshi infiltration debate because it is bang on the border and virtually inaccessible to the arm of Indian law. In fact it is a major hub of a variety of illegal border trade, including trafficking in women and children.
Though the Trinamool Congress won the Assembly seat in 2001, the CPI(M) controls most of the panchayats thanks to the 2003 incident in which thousands of opposition candidates simply "forgot" to file their nomination papers all over the State in that year's local body elections.
In the mid-1990s, a former Congress MLA from Gaighata, Probir Banerjee, produced the same evidence that Mamata Banerjee would be taking to the president on Monday. Only, he submitted it to then State Congress chief Shomen Mitra, who, true to style, sat on it.
In the murky politics of West Bengal, furnishing proof of Bangladeshi infiltration into the political process of West Bengal - and by extension India - sounds like a sour grapes story. Except the BJP, every party does its best to accommodate Bangladeshis into the Indian system by arranging ration cards and voters' cards against the promise of votes. This has gone on for two decades.
But while Bangladeshis are finding place on West Bengal's voters' lists, genuine Indians are being dropped. In Kolkata North-West constituency for instance - one not known to be affected by infiltration - <b>a whopping 1,70,992 genuine voters found their names missing from the list for 2004, even though the total number of voters had increased over the one for 2001 by two per cent. In Kolkata North-East, the number of those dropped was higher -1,91,185.</b>
Â
Call it coincidence or machination, both those seats were won by the Trinamool Congress in 1999 and the party did well in the Assembly segments within them in 2001. In 2004, the CPI(M) "won" both.
Â
But the biggest surprise was in Kolkata-South, Ms Banerjee's seat. <b>In 1999 she won from here by over two lakh votes. Just before the 2004 election she found to her utter shock that 2,39,574 names had been dropped</b>. It is another matter that she retained her seat, albeit by a much reduced margin, but the question hangs: what warranted such a huge exodus of voters from this constituency whereas the ones held by the CPI (M) saw only marginal erosion?
Â
<b>Much the same was witnessed in Jadavpur (names dropped: 2,03,365), Howrah ( 2,53,623), Dum Dum ( 2,40,542), Barasat ( 73,770), Sreerampur ( 1,63,772) </b>and others won by the Trinamool and BJP back in 1999. When one takes a close look at the slim margins by which the NDA parties lost these seats in the 2004 hustings, the mystery both deepens and resolves itself.
Â
In Sreerampur, for instance, Akbar Ali Khondokar of Trinamool lost by just over 18,000 votes. Tapan Sikdar of the BJP lost in Dum Dum by about 98, 000 votes. Similarly, Satyabrata Mookherjee of the BJP lost in Krishnagar by just 20,000 votes after seeing 73,213 genuine voters being subtracted and 32,992 new ones added over the one that elected him in 1999.
Â
"The entire enumeration process is controlled by the CPI (M)," Ms Banerjee said. "When our boys try to go and check the veracity of the lists, they are beaten and often killed. The officials with whom we lodge complaints are members of the CPI (M)'s Coordination Committee for State Government Employees. There is no infrastructure to support democracy in West Bengal," Ms Banerjee lamented.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Bangla bonhomie
FARID HOSSAIN
Dhaka, Aug. 6: India and Bangladesh will step up efforts to maintain peace along the border and stop illegal migration, foreign minister K. Natwar Singh said today.
After two-hour talks with Bangladesh counterpart M. Morshed Khan, Singh said the neighbours had agreed to hold a high-level meeting to discuss unauthorised crossovers along the 4,500-km frontier.
India claims insurgents from northeastern states cross into Bangladesh to attend training camps reportedly run on its soil. Bangladesh insists it does not shelter rebels or allow its territory to be used against its neighbours. It also denies its citizens illegally cross into India.
The two ministers appeared before the press after their talks at state guest house Padma, but did not take queries from journalists.
Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran said the two had discussed signing an extradition treaty, but there was no breakthrough yet.
India has long been urging Bangladesh to extradite Ulfa leader Anup Chetia who has stayed on in that country after serving his jail term. Bangladesh says he canât be extradited without a treaty.
The two sides also discussed the proposed pipeline that would allow India to transport natural gas from Myanmar through Bangladesh territory.
âWe have agreed to work together to realise our common destiny. We have committed to strengthening our relations through dialogue based on mutual friendship, trust and understanding,â Singh said in a written statement.
He said there had been a detailed and wide-ranging exchange of views on issues of mutual interest and âdifferences of opinion as wellâ.
Sources said India had informed Bangladesh it was seeking a permanent seat in the Security Council. It was unclear if any formal support was sought.
In a statement on arrival at Zia International Airport, Singh said India âattaches the highest importance to its relations with Bangladeshâ.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050807/asp/...ory_5084803.asp
Peace process with India "irreversible": Aziz
August 09, 2005 15:50 IST
Asserting that the peace process with India was "irreversible," Pakistan has said that both countries should make progress on all issues while insisting that improvement in economic matters was linked to political problems, including Kashmir.
"We cannot wish away the Kashmir problem. We are optimistic and committed to the peace process," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters on Tuesday onboard his special aircraft, on way to Tokyo.
The peace process is "irreversible" and both countries should make progress on all issues, 'Daily Times' quoted him as saying.
Progress on economic issues was linked to progress on political issues, including Kashmir, he said, adding that Pakistan was a free trade country and had no restrictions in trade except with New Delhi. He said the current talks on commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries were part of the ongoing composite dialogue.
About the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, he said there were indications that India was still keen on the project. He claimed that Pakistan firmly believed in non-proliferation of nuclear arms and had conducted the nuclear tests following the detonations by India.
"Pakistan is against proliferation by any country and in fact it was forced to carry out nuclear tests following India's nuclear explosions," he claimed, adding that the country's nuclear programme was under a strict command and control system.
Aziz said his visit to Japan was aimed at increasing bilateral economic cooperation, seeking more market access and projecting Pakistan as a business and investment-friendly destination.
http://ushome.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/09aziz.htm
08-10-2005, 06:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-10-2005, 06:14 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bangladesh treatment of minorities sparks spat in Britain
By Dipankar De Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service
London, June 30 (IANS) An attempt to highlight the alleged persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh has snowballed into a raging row, pitting two leading members of the House of Lords against Bangladeshi diplomats in London and an Islamic editor.
The spat arose from a conference on Bangladesh organised last week by a steering group patronised by Lord Navneet Dholakia, the Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords, and chaired by his party colleague, the veteran rights campaigner Lord Eric Avebury.
In an address to the House of Lords Tuesday, Lord Avebury accused the Bangladeshi High Commissioner in London, A.H. Mofazzal Karim, of lying and heckling at the July 17 event held at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
According to Lord Avebury, the steering group invited the Bangladesh high commissioner and four other representatives of the government led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to participate in the event titled "European Human Rights Conference on Bangladesh: Extremism, Intolerance and Violence".
Avebury informed the House of Lords that Karim was heckled when he claimed that there was no violation of human rights in Bangladesh; that many BNP MPs were assassinated during the 1996-2001 Awami League government; and that the rise of [the minority] Ahmadiya Muslims "was not so important because there were only a small number of them compared with the majority Sunni population".
"But, in spite of those provocative remarks, order was maintained by the chair and the high commissioner was allowed extra time to compensate for the interruptions," Lord Avebury said.
However, when a Bangladeshi government speaker exceeded his allotted 10 minutes and refused to obey the chair's ruling that he should sit down, "the high commissioner and his group - twice as many as the number that we had officially invited and in spite of being told in writing three times that we could not accept the additional nominations because of the limited capacity of the hall - created a disturbance and then walked out," Lord Avebury said.
"He (Karim) subsequently issued a false statement claiming that the meeting had broken up in disarray, when, in fact, it continued peacefully until 18:00 hours as scheduled."
"By walking out, the high commissioner's group forfeited the chance to participate in the afternoon workshops, which were very useful in focusing on particular aspects of the problem; namely, human rights in general, the persecution of minorities; the rise of religious extremism and the threat to secular democracy; and international aspects, including the role of donors and international NGOs," Lord Avebury added.
He accused the Bangladesh government of colluding with extremist groups in spite of repeated pleas by Britain, the US and the European Union and warned that the "bigotry and hatred" in Bangladesh, if allowed to fester, could spread to the rest of the world, including Britain.
Separately, Lord Dholakia was told by the editor of an Islamic affairs magazine that he was acting like "an Indian and yet more a Hindu communalist" after the Liberal Democrat leader raised the Bangladeshi human rights situation in the House of Lords.
In his speech, Lord Dholakia said religious persecution in Bangladesh against Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and Ahmadiya communities was having devastating effects on their freedom to practise their faith, damaging their culture and uprooting them from their place of birth.
"There are serious allegations that this is the direct result of the religious cleansing of indigenous Bangladeshi Hindus. Why is there a deafening silence from the authorities in Bangladesh?" Lord Dholakia asked in his speech, copies of which were emailed by him to London-based journalists.
The email sparked off a response from M.H. Faruqi, chief editor of Impact International, an Islamic affairs magazine.
"Thanks for your PR," Faruqi said in his 'reply to all' message emailed Wednesday.
"Sometimes one wonders whether you are more an Indian and yet more a Hindu communalist than the chair of the Lib Dem.
"Your views are your business but I must say it is not fair to the party when someone mixes his ethnic and communal prejudices in dealing with any issue."
Calling Lord Dholakia's intervention "rather ill-informed and not objective at all", Faruqi added, "I therefore deplore your biased use of parliamentary privilege to make a mountain out of what was not even a mole hill. The Hindus of Bangladesh can do better without friends like you."
Faruqi's email brought a swift rebuke from the Fiyaz Mughal, chair, Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD), who said Lord Dholakia has for decades raised rights issues for "ALL minorities."
"I know that he brought up the issue of the killings of Muslims and non-Muslims in Gujarat with the relevant authorities, has been vocal on the stop-and-search of black and minority youth in Britain as well as the treatment of black and minority prisoners in Britain's prison systems.
"The list is very long and if the attacks on minority communities are taking place in any country, then I believe it is our right as people (irrespective of our nationality, cultures, faiths and backgrounds) to look into the issue and stand up for their basic human rights," Mughal added.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/050630/43/5z5h9.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->http%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiadaily.com%2Feditorial%2F4002.asp
Facts of next Kashmir in the making - West Bengal Marxist Government and Congress at the center allowing massive Islamic infiltration into West Bengal from Bangladesh
Preetam Sohani
Aug. 8, 2005
It is time for India to wake up. It is time for Hindus all over India to walk to streets to stop what is tantamount to creating the next Kashmir in West Bengal. The local Marxists and the Congress Governments at the center want Muslim votes. They are allowing massive Islamic infiltration into West Bengal from Bangladesh â thousands every day. The state soon will have more Muslims from Bangladesh than local population. Bangladeshi Muslims speak the same Bengali language and is difficult to identify and deport. The Governments at State level and the Center is doing nothing to stop the infiltration.
According to media reports, charging the UPA government at the Center and West Bengalâs ruling Left Front with âinactionâ on the infiltration problem, the BJP on Sunday demanded a white paper from the state government on the âinfluxâ from Bangladesh and said a NDA delegation would meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Monday to apprise him of the problem.
NDA Convener George Fernandes, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and other leaders would be in the delegation, BJP general secretary Rajnath Singh said.
He accused the CPM-led Left Front government of not identifying and taking any action against Bangladeshi infiltrators during its 28 year-rule and demanded that it come out with a White Paper on the issue.
Singh, who held a two-day meeting with party functionaries in the state, directed them to âidentify infiltratorsâ in each district and submit a report to the party by September 15.
Supporting Banerjee, who had created a flutter in the Lok Sabha last week on the infiltration issue and submitted her resignation for being disallowed to speak, Singh said, âshe had not committed any offence by trying to raise the issue. Infiltration is a national problem and Parliament should take cognizance of thatâ.
Charging the UPA government with inaction, he said, âwhen the government acts deaf and dumb, one sometimes violates dignity and crosses the limit of proprietyâ.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bangladesh for observer status to China in SAARC
August 12, 2005 13:01 IST
Bangladesh supports an observer status for China in the 7 nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation grouping, Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin has said.
"We don't have any problem in this regard, but obviously the final decision would be taken by all SAARC member states," he told reporters in Dhaka on Thursday.
China is keen to get an observer status in the regional block, saying it would enable Beijing to deepen economic ties with the countries.
http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/12bangladesh.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
http://www.hrcbmdfw.org/onlinepetitions/...asp?P_ID=4
Bangladesh: Attack on Human Rights Defender Advocate Rabindra Ghosh and
Professor Asok Taru Saha, HRCBM-Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ensure Safety & Security:
Bring the Criminals to Justice.
08-14-2005, 10:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-14-2005, 10:26 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Over 40 injured in B'desh shrine blasts
PTI[ SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2005 12:13:59 PM ]
DHAKA: At least one person was killed and over 40 other devotees of a Muslim saint were injured in a series of bomb blasts at a shrine in southeast Bangladesh early on Saturday, witnesses and media reports said.
The shrine at the Akhaura town of Brahmanbaria district, 224 kilometers from the capital Dhaka, was shaken by explosions soon after midnight, following which tension gripped the area, witnesses said.
At least one person was killed and 42 others were injured in the blasts, media reports said.
Faithfuls had gathered at the shrine for the annual Urs. No other details were available.
Number of other shrines have been attacked in the past, but police have failed to pinpoint the perpetrators.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/artic...199998.cms<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Two suspects held for shrine blasts in Bangladesh
August 14, 2005 16:47 IST
The police have arrested two men in connection with a series of bomb blasts at a Muslim shrine in eastern Bangladesh that killed one man and injured more than 50 other worshippers, an intelligence official said.
The two suspects were among those injured in Friday night's attacks in Brahmmanbaria district, 80 km east of the Dhaka, the official said on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
The men were being treated at a local hospital under police guard, he said. Officials only released their first names, Kamrul 25, and Dipu, 20.
About a dozen homemade bombs exploded at the packed shrine while thousands of devotees were taking part in an annual feast and a fair at the shrine.
No one claimed responsibility for the attacks. The reason behind Friday's attack was unclear. Police said it could have resulted from a personal feud over some disputed shops in front of the shrine.
A police investigation has been launched, and a government committee will submit a separate report in a week.
The government, however, suspended a police official and a government administrator on Saturday for their alleged failure to provide adequate security at the shrine, the official said.
In 2004, such bomb attacks at Bangladesh's Muslim shrines separately killed about a dozen worshippers.
http://us.rediff.com/news/2005/aug/14bdesh.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Dhaka on PM plate, after Saarc
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Aug. 14: Looking to boost Bangladeshâs confidence and trust in India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh might stay back in Dhaka for an extra day after the Saarc summit in November.
Bangladesh, which has been described by sections in the Indian establishment as one of the countryâs âmost difficult neighboursâ, has often complained of being neglected by Delhi. It has argued that despite political rhetoric, the Indian leadership is not serious about mending bilateral relations.
There are indications that Singh could have a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Begum Khaleda Zia on November 14 â the two-day Saarc summit ends the day before. Delhi has received a proposal in this regard from the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party.
This will be Singhâs first visit to Dhaka since he became Prime Minister. There has been a growing mood in South Block that he should take the opportunity of the Saarc summit to build bridges.
Singh, too, has invited the Bangladesh Prime Minister to India. The invitation letter was handed over to her by foreign minister K. Natwar Singh during his recent Dhaka visit.
But sources said Khaleda might prefer to wait for the Saarc summit to be over before travelling anywhere. Another reason why the BNP leader is hesitant to accept Delhiâs invite is that she and many of her senior colleagues believe that India continues to favour their rival Awami League.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050815/asp/...ory_5107172.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bangladesh, China to sign deals on energy, water
DHAKA - Bangladesh and China are expected to sign accords and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for cooperation in the use of gas and energy resources, water resources management and tourism during Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's August 17-21 visit to Beijing.
"We're in negotiations to sign the accords and some more may come up as the visit gets closer," Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Hemayetuddin told diplomatic correspondents at the Foreign Ministry. Replying to a question, he said Dhaka and Beijing are working on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, as Dhaka seeks Chinese cooperation in nuclear power, medicine and agriculture.
Asked about cooperation in water resource management, the Foreign Secretary said Dhaka would seek Beijing's support in flood forecasting and water resource management, saying Bangladesh believes that regional cooperation involving Bangladesh, China, Nepal and India in management of rivers common to the four countries would benefit the peoples in the region. "We are always trying for regional cooperation, not only with China, but also with other countries in the region for the benefit of our people," he said.
On Khaleda's return visit to China, Hemayet said her visit to Bejing within four months of Chinese premier Wen Jiabbao's visit to Dhaka itself conveys a message of closeness, understanding and cooperation between the two countries. He said Prime Minister Khaleda and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao would hold official talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on August 18 covering the entire range of bilateral relations. The talks will follow the signing of agreements and MoUs.
Prime Minister Khaleda will call on Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall before the official talks. On August 17, the Bangladesh Prime Minister will be given a colorful reception at the Great Hall, marking the 30th anniversary of Bangladesh-China diplomatic relations. During the visit, Khaleda will address a business seminar and meet business leaders of leading Chinese companies on August 19. Besides, she will meet Chairman of the Chinese National Congress Wu Bangguo.
From Beijing, the Prime Minister will go to Guilin and Guangxi Province to visit some industrial sites there. Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, Energy Ministry Advisor Mahmudur Rahman, senior officials and a business delegation will accompany the Prime Minister. She will return home on August 21.
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/GH16Ad04.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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