Editorial
Rising piracy poses threat
Make Coast Guards well equipped
That the coastal areas have become a stronghold of pirates is no news to us. But the recent spate of robberies in certain areas of Hatia, Monpura and Noakhali upazila, which has already claimed several lives in the current month, indicates a rising trend in the marauding activities of the pirates. It clearly shows the vulnerability of the coastal people. It also demonstrates how poorly equipped the Bangladesh Coast Guard officials are in containing such unlawful activities.
Reports reveal that a number of islands in these areas have become pirates' den during this time of the year with the fishing boats becoming the worst victims. In the recent incident in Bhola's Bhasan Char, three pirates were killed in a gunfight with the police and several others were beaten to death by the angry mob comprising mostly fishermen. While we stand firmly against mob violence, this public outrage reveals how infuriated fishermen were as a result of such frequent attacks.
Most importantly, the incident calls into question the role of the BCG (south zone) which is responsible for thwarting such activities but was curiously absent in the hours-long operation conducted by the police. We know that the BCG is very poorly equipped with manpower and logistics. Still their inaction cannot be condoned.
We have always considered piracy a potential threat to the economic security and social stability of the coastal people. In order to restore normalcy in the region, we strongly suggest immediate revamp of the BCB so as to equip them with all the necessary logistics to guard against any unlawful activities including those of the pirates. At the same time, we also recommend more invigorated, joint BCG-police actions since piracy is escalating over several districts including Bhola, Noakhali and Lakkhipur.
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