Should Bangladesh allow transit facilities to India?

1. India has proven itself as an untrustworthy friend. During the liberation war, while helping Bangladesh liberation, it secretely built the Farakka dam. It did it with Mujib govt. to sign for 40 days test but it has been 40 years that Bangladesh has been deprived of its agreed water.

During Mujib time, the Rakkhi Bahini head was an Indian.The trade deficit was huge. The jute head quarter was transferred to Delhi. With the Mujib -Indira pact river demarcation based on the mid current was a farce. Bangladesh is losing land. It is now a serious problem.

Indian Intelligence Agency RAW insignia logo

Now Bangladesh is infested with RAW agents and unrest in the cities and in tribal areas continues while countries like Vietnam and Singapore continues the pace of development.

If allowed transit within the country, once given, Bangladesh will not be in a position to take it back. India is increasingly becoming powerful. It will kill Bangladeshis with the excuse of being terrorists or drug -dealers as US does in Columbia with its puppet government. India also has Super Power US, Israeli connection.

India is building war fleets and torpados to keep its growing power from Africa upto Australia in the Indian ocean. Without the transit, its existance is threatned but with transt, like Pakistan it will be a breeding ground for anti-Indian fundamen talism.

2. Without the transit, the seven non Indian sisters that now depend on Bangladesh for manufactured goods,, but with transit, India will sell its own product to the region and Bangladesh will lose.

3. India doesn’t want to allow Bangladesh to have land route with Nepal and Bhutan purely for trade purpose, India shows the excuse that it goes against its territorial integrity, how using the same logic Bangladesh can allow transit?

4. Why Bangladesh should risk destroying its own roads and highways will be neglected by the chauvanistic Indian traders and military personnels passing through this?

5. India failed to keep upto the signed treaties of Barubari/ Farakka. It fist fix these problems than only thust building will lead to transit. RAW led government of India will never change the water management deal.

6. It will allow India to increase its repression over the occupied North East. Bangladesh suffered in the hand of Pakistan and as a peace-loving country it will not allow India to increase its repression over its non Hindi/ largely Asian/ Christian and Buddhist minority people unfortunately made part of India.

7. While Mujib signed the treaty and signed his country to become the bottomless basket case and brought his own death, it is believed that people in favour of transit to India are the ignorant India- lovers Indian Razakars are inviting trouble for Bangladesh.

For such an issue we suggest that let there be a national referundum. If people decide, let it be, if not, never!.

Silliguri corridor: India's vulnerable chicken neck in the East. West Bengal India map

India to propose various modes of transit at New Delhi meet Raheed Ejaz

India will propose various modes of transit, including the latest floated in August 2007, and want to know Bangladesh’s stance over the issue as foreign secretaries of the two South Asian countries sit for the annual consultations in New Delhi on July 17.

Bangladesh officials said India on August 20, 2007 handed over to Dhaka a draft deal on transit for five years, agreement on regulations of passenger and cargo vehicular traffic between the two countries, for signing.

In the draft, New Delhi proposed allowing Indian vehicles with goods and container cargos to enter the Bangladesh territory through the Benapole land port and again enter the Indian states of Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram through Bangladesh boarder points of Tamabil, Bibirbazar and Khagrachari.

Officials in Dhaka, however, observed despite mounting pressure from New Delhi, Bangladesh cannot afford to allow India any transit for certain factors such as lack of infrastructure and logistics, absence of in-depth assessment of possible gains from such ‘economic issue’ and implication on internal security.

Foreign affairs and communications ministries officials on Sunday told New Age New Delhi had already made a number of proposals to Dhaka to allow its goods transit through Bangladesh on land and waterway.

The foreign affairs ministry before the inter-ministerial meeting on July 10 took the consent of the ministries of shipping and communications on providing transit to India.
The foreign secretary, Touhid Hossain, presided over the July 10 meeting which discussed various issues to be discussed at the Indo-Bangla foreign secretary talks and Bangladesh’s preparation in this direction.

As for India’s latest proposal, a high government official, earlier involved with the process, said in the latest proposal, New Delhi tacitly avoided using the word ‘transit,’ considering political sensitivity on the issue in Bangladesh. ‘Whatever the wording may be, the draft means to allow transit for India,’ the official said.

Foreign ministry officials also felt apart from the above agreement, India might take up the issue of setting up a new port call at Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria, bus link between Agartala and Kokata via Dhaka and goods train service between Akhaura and Agartala.

‘As for the three Indian proposals, we need to asses the benefits from such propositions and get the final government nod to sign agreements with India,’ said another official.
Foreign ministry officials said Dhaka would emphasise issues such as increased trade cooperation to reduce trade gap, a schedule for the Joint Rivers Commission meeting of the ministerial level and resumption of the delimitation of maritime boundary talks that was stalled more than two decades ago, at the two-day meeting of the foreign secretaries.

A shipping ministry official Bangladesh would also request India to allow it carry high-speed diesel from Silghat in Assam. The diesel is now carried from Pandu http://www.newagebd.com/2008/jul/15/front.html
Posted by Isha Khan, who can be reached at bdmailer@gmail.com

One Response to “Should Bangladesh allow transit facilities to India?”

Isha Khan says:

July 16, 2008 at 2:03 am

If transit is given, BD will be used for terrorist activists: political experts say

Amena Khatun Urmee

Bangladesh will express its unwillingness to provide India with transit facilities during the bilateral meeting of Bangladesh-India to be held between foreign secretaries of the two countries in Delhi tomorrow (Thursday).
A highly-placed diplomatic source in the Foreign Ministry said, “We are ready to hold talk on various issues with any foreign country but we are categorically saying that Bangladesh will not agree with India’s proposal if it goes against country’s sovereignty and interest.”
Referring to rules of foreign policy that no decision can be imposed on coercion, earlier Foreign Adviser said that Bangladesh can discuss any issue with India as a neighbouring country but no decision can be imposed on it. Bangladeshi counterparts will discuss about trade and other bilateral issues other than transit in the meeting with India.
Another source alleged that India is being benefited in many ways from Bangladesh including sharing of water and one-sided trade but despite all these facilities enjoyed by India it has started to put continuous pressure on the country for transit facilities. It added that India has been insisting on the country for transit for many years but Bangladesh is not responding to her demand.
According to political scientists, as the Caretaker Government is not an elected and democratic government, it has no right to take a serious decision like granting transit to any foreign country.
They said “Bangladesh is a democratic country and its people are the original owners and stakeholders of everything thereof and thus all important decisions have to be taken in consultation with common mass, civil society leaders and members of the defence services”.
Foreign Ministry sources said that there is a committee which is working as to how communication between the two countries can be increased but this committee is identifying all possible ways except giving transit.
It may be pointed out that in July 2007 when Indian state minister for commerce Joyram Ramesh came to Dhaka he said India would like to promote Bangladesh by helping in the fields of trade and commerce and thus transit is necessary.
Diplomatic experts expressed their anxieties about transit issue saying that strategically India is strong because of its military and commercial might and it has many provinces where the insurgents are fighting for their independence through armed movements. If transit is given, Bangladesh may be used for military activities both by the Indian government and the insurgents.

http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/leading%20news.htm

Reply