The Hindu : MiG-29s a burden, says Dhaka

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 18, 2002

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International

MiG-29s a burden, says Dhaka

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA July 17. The Bangladesh Government has decided to dispose of eight multi-role MiG -29 planes that the previous Government of Sheikh Hasina had purchased from the Russian Federation two years ago in a controversial deal.

The Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, who made the announcement to a group of journalists at her office on Tuesday, said the planes were sitting idle. Daily Star and Daily Ittefaq quoted her as saying, "The country is losing money to keep them". "Bangladesh wants to sell eight Russian made MIG-29 fighters because it cannot afford the one billion dollars a year needed for spare parts and maintenance."

Daily Ittefaq said the Prime Minister had already instructed the air force chief to start the proceedings for the sale of the fighters. The previous Government had purchased eight MiG-29 fulcrum jet fighters from Russia two years ago. Defence sources said each aircraft was priced at $11 million and $36 million was allocated for training and spare parts. The English daily said 10 pilots and 70 technicians underwent training in Russia as part of the deal.

When the Bangladesh Nationalist Government of Begum Khaleda took office in October last year, they alleged that there were irregularities in the sale of the planes. The Bureau of Anti-Corruption filed a case against Sheikh Hasina and some other high-ranking officials for alleged irregularities in the procurement of the planes.

Sheikh Hasina, now the leader of the Opposition, has dismissed the charges saying the fighter planes were procured at a competitive price and on a state-to-state deal with the aim of developing the country's air force. In one of the two volumes of white paper released on the previous Government's "corruption, misdeeds and irregularities", the Khaleda Government also accused the former Prime Minister of "wilful wrongdoings" in the purchase of the military equipment. Begum Khaleda told the journalists that most of the MiG-29s had been grounded and become a burden on the State exchequer. "It is therefore better to sell them and spare the national exchequer from such a heavy burden."

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