Wed 30 Aug 2006
On an encouraging note for many, Bangladesh Army has emerged as one of the largest participants of United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Bangladesh today is the largest and most respected contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts. Of total 60 peace missions mounted so far by the UN, Bangladesh has successfully participated in 30 missions in 23 different countries. So far over 49,000 personnel from Bangladesh Armed Forces have participated in these missions from Bosnia to Haiti to Georgia to Cambodia. Bangladesh has contributed 9,758 peacekeepers (more than 14 percent of the total), who are operating in 12 different UN missions in countries like Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, among others, including leadership to UN mission in Sudan.
And back home, we are counting dead bodies, living under a ruthlessly facist regime. ‘Operation Clean Heart’ in 2002 and 58 heart failures, 3 months of martial torture on 11,000 people and it never stopped there. Welcome ‘Men in Black’: RAB and ‘crossfire’ murders 283. Mutilated dead bodies dumped here and there. Human rights? Do ‘criminals’ have any? Looks like they do. At least when international human rights advocates are looking close into the issue.
In comes an appeal from the Asian Human Rights Commission asking the Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations to expel Bangladesh Army from UN peacekeeping operations if RAB is not disbanded. You know what? If this is something to bank on: Bangladesh Army is soon going to have trouble: Seat back in their barracks and suck their thumbs, hard. If ‘crossfire’ is preferred over ‘international minesweeping’, that is going to bring in bad news.
August 30th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Good, Bad and Sad::
The good part
1. Bangladesh is the largest contributor to the U.N. force in Ivory Coast
2. Bangladesh made the largest offer of up to 2,000 troops to peace keeping in mid-east (Lebanon) compared to France’s (supposedly leading the peace keeping force) offer of just 400
The Bad part
1. The multiple press-releases and open letter that AHRC has issued to UN in this month (Aug 2006) alone complaining about increase in the number of extrajudicial killings (committed by RAB and police personnel in Bangladesh) are off-course damaging for BD’s image – but then again there are so much alleged truth in those letters….
2. AHRC submitted a list of 23 people allegedly involved in killing and torturing people without the due process of law.
3. ALRC (Asian Legal Resource Centre) listed (in their press release through AHRC) the extend of lawlessness practiced by the police/RAB/court officials in BD.
The Sad Part
1. Despite the allegations against the security force in BD, the troops sent off to the peace-keeping mission had noble intentions and knew what was at stake. They left families and loved ones at home knowing they might never return…
We recently experienced huge fatality (six people of the UN peace keeper team from BD died in a road accident) in Ivory Coast. May their souls rest in peace.