Editorial
We condemn Nasaka's act of piracy
Government must take a firm stand with Yangon
RECENT incidents of Nasaka, the Myanmar border security force, opening fire on Bangladeshi fishermen in what are clearly Bangladesh's territorial waters leave us gravely concerned about the situation. As reports indicate, quoting a number of our fishermen in such areas as St. Martin's island, the Myanmar men left at least eleven Bangladeshi fishermen injured, with one of them in critical condition owing to bullet wound in the head. We condemn such unacceptable and morally untenable action on the part of the Myanmar authorities. It is not just high-handedness or a demonstration of an aggressive posture on the part of Nasaka but in effect a wanton act of piracy.
It is at this point pertinent to raise the question of how our own coast guards respond to such manifestly gross behaviour. We have been informed that the coast guards could do little because of the firing from the Myanmar forces. If that is indeed the condition in which such a vital force as the coast guards operates, one can only ask the authorities whether they can bring themselves to a position where they can deter such aggressive incidents from recurring in future. Indeed, in light of the latest incident with the Myanmar security forces, what immediate steps are the Bangladesh government planning to take, both within itself and with the Yangon authorities? It is clear that by its latest action, which certainly cannot be considered an isolated incident, Myanmar has sought to trample underfoot the norms on which states conduct relations with one another. By opening fire at fishermen working within Bangladesh's territorial waters, Nasaka stands guilty of violating the territorial sovereignty of this country. It is, therefore, only proper that our Foreign Office dispatch a strong protest note to its counterpart in Yangon, if it has not done so already.
The state of diplomatic ties between Myanmar and Bangladesh has generally been characterized by tension over the past few years. The incident of Rohingya refugees fleeing their homes in Myanmar and finding sanctuary in Bangladesh is but a pointed instance of such fraught relations. And of late there have been reports of more Rohingyas trickling into Bangladesh in order to escape persecution in their country. Now, with Bangladesh's right to its territorial waters being infringed upon by Myanmar forces, the pressure increases on our government to raise the issue, in firm manner, with the regime in Yangon. There is little question that unless such a move is made, a significant part of Bangladesh's economy, in this case offshore fishing, will take a battering.
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