Readers Respond
Here are some comments that came in response to Sunday's The Daily Star news report headlined “Delhi now keen to resolve bilaterally”
Rch
Only an impartial international court will do justice to all. India does not want it. Bangladesh must go to the UN for resolving all the issues. Mark Akmat
If Bangladesh is a sovereign country, which it is, it cannot accept the sugar-coated words of the Indian High Commission, as India has almost always broken all bilateral agreements by not implementing all their clauses or not ratifying those at the right time. Take the example of border killing. Killing of the Bangladeshis at the border almost every week seems to be a common practice by the BSF. So, our government must work first bilaterally within a stipulated time and then go to the international court to settle maritime boundary, river water sharing and other border issues before the tide of the current win over maritime dispute with Myanmar dies down. Asif
We have had enough experience resolving issues bilaterally with India. We know how much respect India shows to our demands. This is yet another trick played by India. Anonymous
I would request our government to consider all pros and cons before agreeing to bilateral discussion. It could turn into a loss for us. Riaz Ahmed, UK
Stronger countries prefer bi-lateral negotiations when they find themselves in a weaker position either legally or morally. They know that decision by a judge will very likely be against them. India always preferred a bilateral negotiation with Pakistan on Kashmir and Israel on Palestine issues and we know what the results have been. Indians are seasoned negotiators and the nature of the current Bangladesh government is a supplicant one. On that basis, a bilateral negotiation will not be advantageous for us. Our preference should therefore be either arbitration or international law. Imtiaz Karim, DU
Bilateral solution always remains open to be violated by any party, since this is mere understanding, rather than verdict. India, supported by a barrage of smart diplomats and policy makers, has very quickly understood their weaker position and resorted to bilateral conduit to save the face for the time being. Jalal
We urge our government not to surrender to this idea. Again India will play a trick in the name of bilateral settlement. Roney
What prompts India suddenly to be keen to solve it bilaterally? How many issues were solved bilaterally in the last 40 years? The ball is now in Bangladesh's court. We should use this chance properly. Abul, UK
We think it would be unwise and suicidal for us to accept India's proposal. If they were sincere they would withdraw their unjust claim and then might approach for bilateral discussion. Their navy is already patrolling inside our sea boundary. We are worried about our government's policy towards India. Sheikh Monirul Islam, Opee
It is a trap. We must not fall into this trap as we have much better chance to go to UN and achieve what we achieved in case of Myanmar. If India were keen to solve it bilaterally, they would do it long before. We should go to the international court rather than wasting our time negotiating with India. Truth Teller
India is just trying to play the delay game. But we are not fools. We do not want to wait for another forty years. Let the international court settle the maritime dispute within 2014.
Only an impartial international court will do justice to all. India does not want it. Bangladesh must go to the UN for resolving all the issues. Mark Akmat
If Bangladesh is a sovereign country, which it is, it cannot accept the sugar-coated words of the Indian High Commission, as India has almost always broken all bilateral agreements by not implementing all their clauses or not ratifying those at the right time. Take the example of border killing. Killing of the Bangladeshis at the border almost every week seems to be a common practice by the BSF. So, our government must work first bilaterally within a stipulated time and then go to the international court to settle maritime boundary, river water sharing and other border issues before the tide of the current win over maritime dispute with Myanmar dies down. Asif
We have had enough experience resolving issues bilaterally with India. We know how much respect India shows to our demands. This is yet another trick played by India. Anonymous
I would request our government to consider all pros and cons before agreeing to bilateral discussion. It could turn into a loss for us. Riaz Ahmed, UK
Stronger countries prefer bi-lateral negotiations when they find themselves in a weaker position either legally or morally. They know that decision by a judge will very likely be against them. India always preferred a bilateral negotiation with Pakistan on Kashmir and Israel on Palestine issues and we know what the results have been. Indians are seasoned negotiators and the nature of the current Bangladesh government is a supplicant one. On that basis, a bilateral negotiation will not be advantageous for us. Our preference should therefore be either arbitration or international law. Imtiaz Karim, DU
Bilateral solution always remains open to be violated by any party, since this is mere understanding, rather than verdict. India, supported by a barrage of smart diplomats and policy makers, has very quickly understood their weaker position and resorted to bilateral conduit to save the face for the time being. Jalal
We urge our government not to surrender to this idea. Again India will play a trick in the name of bilateral settlement. Roney
What prompts India suddenly to be keen to solve it bilaterally? How many issues were solved bilaterally in the last 40 years? The ball is now in Bangladesh's court. We should use this chance properly. Abul, UK
We think it would be unwise and suicidal for us to accept India's proposal. If they were sincere they would withdraw their unjust claim and then might approach for bilateral discussion. Their navy is already patrolling inside our sea boundary. We are worried about our government's policy towards India. Sheikh Monirul Islam, Opee
It is a trap. We must not fall into this trap as we have much better chance to go to UN and achieve what we achieved in case of Myanmar. If India were keen to solve it bilaterally, they would do it long before. We should go to the international court rather than wasting our time negotiating with India. Truth Teller
India is just trying to play the delay game. But we are not fools. We do not want to wait for another forty years. Let the international court settle the maritime dispute within 2014.
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