CaPtAiN_pLaNeT
SENIOR MEMBER
Krishna faces questions in Dhaka on border killings
Krishna faces questions in Dhaka on border ‘killings’
Dhaka, July 6: India foreign minister S.M. Krishna today faced a barrage of questions from senior editors here in Dhaka about the border issues plaguing Indo-Bangla relations.
Krishna assured them that India will introduce non-lethal weapons to deal with border intruders from Bangladesh but expects both countries to take responsibility to bring killings to zero level.
Bangladesh media have reported killing of unarmed Bangladeshi nationals by Indias trigger-happy Border Security Force (BSF), stirring anger here and the editors were expected to question Krishna about the issue.
According to Odhikar, a human rights organisation in Bangladesh, between January 1 and May 10, 2011, 12 young unarmed Bangladeshi nationals were killed by the BSF.
However, Krishnas placatory statements helped calm nerves.
Well have to deal with border issues in a humanitarian manner. At the same time, border management is the responsibility of both the governments, he said.
Krishna said curfew on the Indian side needs to be enforced but with a more human approach, asked about the killings and harassment of Bangladeshi nationals.
It is necessary to be humane in dealing with incursions, the minister said. They should be taken to custody and brought to justice. The killings have come down drastically, he said, now we need to bring it down to zero level.
The Indian minister arrived here on a three-day visit to lay the foundations for the September 6-7 visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Krishna also discussed with Bangladesh finance minister A.M.A. Muhith the project agreements under the $1-billion line of credit extended by India. Twenty projects, exhausting $961 million credit, have been cleared and eight of those have already got the nod of the Indian authorities, said Muhith after the meeting with Krishna.
Muhith said that the rest of the projects were likely to get the go-ahead signal from New Delhi before the Indian Prime Ministers visit.
Weve a system in place to deal with all the development partners but this is the first time were taking such a big amount from India, he said.
Some processes are not followed but now the authorities are streamlining them, he added.
The borrowing agencies and Indian representatives will sit together to settle any dispute, Muhith said. When the Indian Prime Minister will be here, it can be said the commitment on the $1 billion is complete.
During the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi, India agreed to provide $1 billion and Dhaka and Delhi signed the credit deal in presence of Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee later.
On the transit issues, Muhith said that he had discussed with Krishna the need for Bangladesh to become an economic hub in the region.
Bangladesh is between two economic giants China and India and Dhaka must have something of its own to attract all the countries. The government wants not only to have connectivity with India, Nepal and Bhutan but also with Myanmar, Thailand and China. Thats why transit is very important for Bangladesh and we have to develop Chittagong and Khulna ports to provide the service, he said.
Krishnas arrival in Dhaka was overshadowed by Singhs remarks made at a meeting with a few Indian editors last week in Delhi.
Already in damage-control mode, Krishna told reporters accompanying him that he hoped that the Prime Ministers remarks would not hamper Indo-Bangla ties. I hope no adverse inference will be drawn by the Bangladesh government from the Prime Ministers remarks, he said.
A test will come on Friday during the last leg of his three-day visit when he is scheduled to meet the BNP chairperson and leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia.
Zia has been criticising Dhakas growing relationship with India for long and could refer to the statements attributed to the Prime Minister when Krishna meets her.
At Dhakas Hazrat Shahjalal Airport, Krishna declined to take questions from journalists but made a brief statement.
I am looking forward to a productive and focused interaction with the leadership here (Bangladesh) on bilateral relations we are at a historic juncture, Krishna said. He added: Our bilateral ties are passing through the best phase in recent times with a number of new and forward-looking initiatives taken by the leadership of the two countries following the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India .
Krishna has arrived at a time the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami has called a two-day strike against the government over a constitutional amendment.
Krishna faces questions in Dhaka on border ‘killings’
Dhaka, July 6: India foreign minister S.M. Krishna today faced a barrage of questions from senior editors here in Dhaka about the border issues plaguing Indo-Bangla relations.
Krishna assured them that India will introduce non-lethal weapons to deal with border intruders from Bangladesh but expects both countries to take responsibility to bring killings to zero level.
Bangladesh media have reported killing of unarmed Bangladeshi nationals by Indias trigger-happy Border Security Force (BSF), stirring anger here and the editors were expected to question Krishna about the issue.
According to Odhikar, a human rights organisation in Bangladesh, between January 1 and May 10, 2011, 12 young unarmed Bangladeshi nationals were killed by the BSF.
However, Krishnas placatory statements helped calm nerves.
Well have to deal with border issues in a humanitarian manner. At the same time, border management is the responsibility of both the governments, he said.
Krishna said curfew on the Indian side needs to be enforced but with a more human approach, asked about the killings and harassment of Bangladeshi nationals.
It is necessary to be humane in dealing with incursions, the minister said. They should be taken to custody and brought to justice. The killings have come down drastically, he said, now we need to bring it down to zero level.
The Indian minister arrived here on a three-day visit to lay the foundations for the September 6-7 visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Krishna also discussed with Bangladesh finance minister A.M.A. Muhith the project agreements under the $1-billion line of credit extended by India. Twenty projects, exhausting $961 million credit, have been cleared and eight of those have already got the nod of the Indian authorities, said Muhith after the meeting with Krishna.
Muhith said that the rest of the projects were likely to get the go-ahead signal from New Delhi before the Indian Prime Ministers visit.
Weve a system in place to deal with all the development partners but this is the first time were taking such a big amount from India, he said.
Some processes are not followed but now the authorities are streamlining them, he added.
The borrowing agencies and Indian representatives will sit together to settle any dispute, Muhith said. When the Indian Prime Minister will be here, it can be said the commitment on the $1 billion is complete.
During the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi, India agreed to provide $1 billion and Dhaka and Delhi signed the credit deal in presence of Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee later.
On the transit issues, Muhith said that he had discussed with Krishna the need for Bangladesh to become an economic hub in the region.
Bangladesh is between two economic giants China and India and Dhaka must have something of its own to attract all the countries. The government wants not only to have connectivity with India, Nepal and Bhutan but also with Myanmar, Thailand and China. Thats why transit is very important for Bangladesh and we have to develop Chittagong and Khulna ports to provide the service, he said.
Krishnas arrival in Dhaka was overshadowed by Singhs remarks made at a meeting with a few Indian editors last week in Delhi.
Already in damage-control mode, Krishna told reporters accompanying him that he hoped that the Prime Ministers remarks would not hamper Indo-Bangla ties. I hope no adverse inference will be drawn by the Bangladesh government from the Prime Ministers remarks, he said.
A test will come on Friday during the last leg of his three-day visit when he is scheduled to meet the BNP chairperson and leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia.
Zia has been criticising Dhakas growing relationship with India for long and could refer to the statements attributed to the Prime Minister when Krishna meets her.
At Dhakas Hazrat Shahjalal Airport, Krishna declined to take questions from journalists but made a brief statement.
I am looking forward to a productive and focused interaction with the leadership here (Bangladesh) on bilateral relations we are at a historic juncture, Krishna said. He added: Our bilateral ties are passing through the best phase in recent times with a number of new and forward-looking initiatives taken by the leadership of the two countries following the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India .
Krishna has arrived at a time the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami has called a two-day strike against the government over a constitutional amendment.