Menon's Dhaka mission
M. Shahidul Islam
Nothing happens out of the blue, excepting miracles, so believe conscientious humans.
The sudden visit to Dhaka on April 13-14 of the Indian foreign secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon has given rise to a lot of suspense and wild speculations.
Suspense in politics, however, often ends up in misery, unless pre-empted in time. The same opinion was rendered by Aristotle who, in his epic composition, Poetics, wrote that suspense would end up either in danger, or in happiness.
The tragic BDR massacre occurred on the heel of a suspense-ridden environment, following wild fear stirred by some politicians in the parliament and outside about alleged torture in the DGFI custody of some politicians during emergency rule.
Accompanied by the composition on January 18?of a special committee to render opinion in the validity of the immediate past CG - and the submission of a draft version of the committee report on February 16 - the dreadful suspense entered a phase of climax. Then, barely a week passed by, when an unprecedented rebellion in the BDR managed to kill nearly 60 skilled military officers, ranging from the rank of Captain to Major General.
Forewarning ignored
With the grace of reflections we can confidently say now that, such a tragic thing could only occur in Bangladesh. As a nation, we not only suffer from forgetfulness, we're also myopic. Had that not been the case, how the BDR rebellion could have occurred despite our clearest hints only 5 days ago, in the February 20 issue of Weekly Holiday (Civil-military relations enter murky patch).
The broader strategy involving the fate of Bangladesh is being implemented by phases. Now that the spotlight is being carefully shifted from the BDR tragedy to the removal of Khaleda Zia from her legitimately owned house, and to the bogey of Islamic militancy, we once again are scared to the hilt by the ongoing deflections and deceptions.
What really prompted India's external affairs secretary to land in Dhaka on surprise whirlwind tour on April 12? Not only the visit took place amidst Delhi's mammoth preoccupation with the preparation for a general election, sources say there was no mention of such a visit in the official schedule of the Bangladesh PM whom the Indian foreign secretary hurriedly met first, breaching diplomatic protocol, upon arrival in Dhaka.
"It is really unusual. I have never come across such a surprise visit. Visit by India's external affairs secretary, of course, warrants some preparations," said Shamsher Mubin Chowdhury, a former foreign secretary and an Ambassador. "Only the government can say better why it was kept secret," he added. Chowdhury also expressed surprise about Menon's planned meeting with the army chief and the breaching of protocol nuances in the context of a democratic dispensation that Bangladesh claims to have.
Besides, the arrival of the Indian foreign secretary was kept in such a seamless wrap that, "not only the media, officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the foreign ministry were unaware of Menon's possible visit," reported a daily newspaper. It was also learnt that Menon's meeting with the PM that began at 7.30 PM on April 13 at her official residence, Jamuna, was hurriedly included in the PM's schedule at the last moment.
A foreign ministry official said he came to know about the visit "after Menon's arrival to Dhaka" while the First Secretary (Information) of the Indian High Commission, Dipak Mittal, told UNB that it was part of regular consultations with government of a neighbouring and friendly country, nothing beyond that."
Finally, in a desperate bid to stop speculative headlines to turn things worse, Menon tried to dispel the unease by saying, "We meet regularly. We don't have a set schedule. We meet whenever we feel like. It is part of the ongoing dialogue on various issues between the two countries."
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