Urgent need to resolve border disputes

By Haroon Habib

DHAKA, APRIL 21. The exchange of fire on the Indo-Bangladesh border has stopped, but there is apprehension here as to whether the authorities on both sides would be able to prevent the recurrence of such bloody skirmishes in the future.

The apprehensions are pertinent because despite the resolution of most outstanding issues, some smaller ones still cause conflicts along the 4,000-km-long border.

The Mujib-Indira agreement dealt with 110 enclaves of Bangladesh in Indian territory and almost an equal number belonging to India in Bangladesh. While Bangladesh implemented the treaty quickly, India has not done it fully so far.

These are minor issues, including the one of Padua (Indian name Pyrdiwah) which was seized by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on April 16. Discussions over the handing over of Padua, which borders Meghalaya, to Bangladesh have been going on for a long time without any tangible result.

Observers said that the latest clash was probably the result of local adventurism and field-level overreaction, and hoped the situation would improve soon. ``But the facts remain that the border guards of India and Bangladesh had clashed 51 times in last 16 months, in which 47 BDR men died and 37 were injured,'' said the pro-secular daily Sangbad in an editorial today.

While stressing the need for both sides to observe restraint, newspapers here have raised several questions. Who was to blame for the clashes? Were the clashes the outcome of issues which remained unresolved for decades? Or had some interested quarters seized their chance?

The popular Bangla daily Prothom Alo questioned in a front page analysis the role of the BDR Director-General, whose forces had taken a group of journalists on a trip to Padua the day it was seized by them. The daily said the journalists were later flown by a helicopter to Roumari, where the worst clashes took place.

The daily also questioned why the BDR chief had taken a major military decision - to seize Padua - when there was an elected government, and also the neighbouring governments had been maintaining regular contact on all issues.

Although there is no official confirmation, another daily Vorer Kagoj reported today that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had demanded an explanation from the BDR for its action, which may have provoked the BSF to attack a Bangladesh border outpost in the Kurigram-Mankerchar region, resulting in the large number of casualties.

The construction of a road by the BSF in Padua was protested by the BDR. But it is still unclear what actually prompted the latter to seize the tiny hamlet, which was a strategic camp of Bangladesh freedom fighters during the nation's war of liberation in 1971.

The Daily Independent in an editorial said, ``It is, at this time, certainly important to find out the causes responsible for what transpired at the Indo-Bangladesh frontier on Wednesday.'' It demanded a quick, judicious inquiry and also the reasons for the large number of casualties.

The border is not only densely populated on both sides but also mostly demarcated except a few disputed portions. And the recent clashes took place only in the two undemarcated areas.

Even if there was a design by ``an interested foreign quarters'', for instance the ISI whose name is being discussed, to destabilise the friendly relations between the neighbours, there is an urgent need to resolve the unsettled issues to prevent the recurrence of such conflicts in the future.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : An anniversary Sri Lanka would like to forget
Next     : A pro-active SC worries Musharraf