India Bangladesh International Border Meetings
At Border Security Force of India (BSFI) headquarters, special Director General (DG) Eastern Command in the capital of Indian State of West Bengal, Kolkata, informed reporters that in conformity with directions of Indian Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, a meeting of members to monitor the current situation on India-Bangladesh international border was held on 10th August, 2024.
Further on directions of the DG-BSFI, members of the committee communicated with their counterparts in Bangladesh.
BSFI and BGB
In order to reach out to their counterparts up to International Border Out Post (IBOP)/company level, both international border guarding forces held around 83 flag meetings at various levels in the last three days. Apart from this, both international border guarding forces undertook approximately 241 ‘Simultaneous Coordinating Patrols’ (SCP) in vulnerable international boundary points and areas of Eastern Command AOR.
While appreciating the Border Guards Of Bangladesh (BGB) role in preventing the Bangladeshi nationals coming to the international boundary, BSFI authorities impressed upon them to protect the safety of Indian citizens and people belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh.
It may be mentioned that BGB has not only been cooperating with BSFI on the international border on Operations matters but also taking all steps for the safety of Indian citizens and people belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh in collaboration with their civil authorities.
Bangladeshi Civilians
In fact, on 9th August, 2024, when around 1,500 Bangladeshi civilians had assembled near the actual ‘Zero-Line’ in Coochbehar district of West Bengal State and Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh international border inside Bangladesh then BGB made efforts in collaboration with civil authorities of Lalmonirhat district, Bangladesh to persuade them to return back .
In these international bilateral field meetings, matters related to border security and other mutual interests were discussed. In addition to this, commanders devised channels for effective coordinated mechanisms to share real time information on various operational matters with BGB.
Indian International Border Village Meetings
232 meetings were conducted with residents of the Indian International Border Villages (IBV)s, who reside all along the international border of Eastern Command. The aim was to make them aware of the current situation in Bangladesh and to seek their cooperation in international border management.
BSFI is in active communication with BGB at all levels through available channels to monitor security scenarios and remain prepared to address any kind of unforeseen situation all along the Indo-Bangla international boundary.
UN Offer
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk offered to deploy an independent fact-finding team to assist the Bangladesh government in building trust among all stakeholders and to help de-escalate tensions. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen thanked the high Commissioner for his concern.
The students’ protest initially was peaceful, but turned violent as the “third forces” comprising BNP-Jamaat and extremist forces eventually infiltrated the movement, Momen said.
The situation was exacerbated to the extent that some lives were lost and certain egregious brutalities occurred under the cover of the students’ movement, Momen said. Besides, huge public properties were also destroyed by the opposing political and extremist forces. Reported by the Daily Star.
Story by Shib Shankar Chatterjee from the India-Bangladesh International Border, drawing from Academia.edu & Scribd.com sources.
