CM Kajawl :Bangladesh government should highlight the border killing issue during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh, human rights activists said.Despite giving assurances, Border Security Force (BSF) of India continued to killing Bangladeshi nationals in the borders. So it is an opportunity for Bangladesh to raise the issue to a high-level discussion, they said. Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Dhaka on a two-day visit on June 6. According to human rights organization ‘Odhikar’, BSF killed 17 Bangladeshi people in the first four months of this year. The BSF also injured 27 people and abducted 16 others in that time. Director of Odhikar Nasiruddin Alan on Saturday said Bangladesh government should strongly place the border issue before Narendra Modi and get commitment from him about a stop in the border killing. “Only assurance is not enough. We have to take commitment from Modi. Otherwise, things will remain the same,” he said. Bangladesh is surrounded by India from three sides and the people of the two countries have historical ties, Alan said, adding people from Bangladesh go to Indian for various reasons, including the meeting of relatives across the border. “If any one goes to India without visa, there is law for illegal intrusion. The intruders can be brought to justice. But, it is not acceptable to shoot them at sight,” he said.”Our people have to show courage to raise the issue before Modi and apprise him of the border issue. We don’t live in uncivilized society. We have to show tolerance, mutual respect and follow the laws to establish peace in this region,” he noted. Sigma Huda, Secretary General of Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), said Bangladesh should highlight the problem before the Indian delegate to address the issue. “Earlier, we have seen BSF assured of stopping firing at the Bangladeshi nationals during the meetings with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), but the BSF men did the same thing soon after their assurances,” she said.”So, I think this is a great opportunity for us to take the issue to the top level of the governments. This kind of opportunity would not come time and again. We have to convey the message that if we really want to build a good relationship, they must have to stop killing in the borders,” she added. President of Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) Manzill Murshid said the BSF’s earlier assurances did not work, but if any instruction comes from the highest-level to sop the border killing, BSF cannot disobey it.”If we want to maintain a friendly atmosphere, the Indians must stop killing Bangladeshi people in the border areas. If there is any violation of law, they can take legal action and punish the violators, but they cannot continue indiscriminate killing,” he said.”The issue of border security will figure in the agenda for discussion during Narendra Modi’s tour, but we have to highlight the border killing issue giving extra emphasis on it for the interest of peaceful co-existence,” Murshid added.
