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| Monday, 13 September 2004 |
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Peeved at Dhaka's tirade, India may skip SAARC summit New Delhi, Sunday (Hindustan Times, AFP) Anticipating there will be no climbdown by Bangladesh over Foreign Minister Morshed Khan's recent anti-India tirade, India may not participate in this year's bilateral Foreign Secretary talks, or in the SAARC summit Dhaka is to host early next year. Khan had, warned of steps against Indian exports, spoke of Indian inaction against alleged Bangladeshi insurgent camps in India, and, alarmingly, warned that our North-eastern states were "Bangladesh locked". On Friday, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told the Bangladesh High Commissioner the remarks were objectionable and could negatively impact bilateral ties. India believes Khan's remarks weren't spontaneous, and that there won't be any conciliatory gestures. "Relations will get colder," says a key government official. The chill will show when the Home Secretary visits Dhaka for talks on September 17-18. Dates were to be set for the annual Foreign Secretary talks, but India is now holding back on a decision. "And if similar statements keep appearing, we'll have to rethink participating in the SAARC summit," says the official. In fact, the government recently advised the Tatas to postpone a trip to Dhaka relating to their proposed Rs 2,000 crore investment in the power, steel and fertiliser sectors. The Tatas had sought advice following the August 21 bomb attack on an Awami League rally where Sheikh Hasina narrowly survived. "You go at your own risk," they were told. Though Ratan Tata deferred the trip till late October, the government now believes it is unlikely to materialise. India says the investment climate is not conducive as Bangladesh is fast emerging a hub of global Islamist extremist network. "It may turn into another Afghanistan," says a government source. "And what makes matters worse is that while Pakistan admits to its jehadi problem, Bangladesh is in complete denial." Meanwhile India said Saturday it would raise the issue of Indian rebels allegedly operating from bases in neighbouring Bangladesh during high-level talks in Dhaka next week. "Security concerns will be our top-most priority," India's high commissioner (ambassador) to Bangladesh, Veena Sikri, told reporters in Guwahati, the main city in northeastern Assam state. She said India also would seek to discuss the alleged illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals into India. "Issues relating to terrorist bases and problems of infiltration will be taken up during the meeting." New Delhi says Indian separatist rebels stage hit-and-run attacks on targets in the revolt-racked northeast from up to 150 camps in Bangladesh but Dhaka denies the country shelters any Indian militants. The envoy's comments came just ahead of a trip by an Indian delegation led by home secretary Dhirendra Singh to Dhaka next week. Singh will hold talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, the first exchange of its kind in four years. New Delhi has suggested joint patrols by Indian and Bangladeshi troops to stop the alleged movement of militants and illegal immigration but Dhaka has repeatedly rebuffed the idea. India and Bangladesh share a 4,095-kilometre (2,539-mile) border. "This proposal ... will come up for discussion," the Indian envoy said. "We hope to get a positive response. |
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