BNP takes back its greetings

Fakhrul says they congratulated govt by mistake

Staff Correspondent

The BNP yesterday withdrew the felicitation it had extended to the government after Bangladesh won the maritime boundary case against Myanmar at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea last month.

Acting secretary general of the party Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the verdict of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) had mathematical deceits, which they were not aware of before.

"We were confused by the massive [government] publicity of 'conquering the Bay of Bengal' and we extended our thanks without knowing details about the verdict. But after identifying the loopholes, we stand corrected," he said.

Mirza Fakhrul was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable styled “Achievement and non-achievement through the verdict over maritime boundary with Myanmar” organised by Bangla daily Amar Desh at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh seminar room in Dhaka yesterday.

The government was trying to divert people's attention from critical issues like the crises of gas, electricity and water; killing of Bangladeshi people at the boarder, soaring prices of essentials and plummeting investment, he said.

"Ignoring these problems, the government is organising festivals over the issue of maritime boundary," said the BNP leader.

Claiming that Bangladesh failed to gain anything in the legal battle, Fakhrul alleged that the government did not make proper preparations to fight at the court. "Why renowned experts like Dr Kamal Hossain were not included in the process," he questioned.

He said the prime minister was using the maritime boundary verdict as a campaigning tool because she said Awami League would secure such “victory” with India in 2014, if voted to power again, said the BNP leader.

The maritime boundary dispute with India is scheduled to be solved by an international arbitration court in 2014.

The government has cheated the people on such a large scale over the last three years that people have lost faith in the government, he claimed.

Amar Desh Editor Mahmudur Rahman chaired the roundtable while former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Emazuddin Ahmed, veteran journalist Ataus Samad, columnist Farhad Mazhar, Supreme Court Bar Association President Zainul Abedin and its former president Khandker Mahbub Hossain also spoke.

While presenting a paper, master mariner Capt M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury claimed that Myanmar has gained victory through the verdict, not Bangladesh.

However, law professor of Dhaka University Asif Nazrul strongly protested the claim saying, "Both the countries have a win-win situation."

The ITLOS on March 14 delivered the verdict which upheld Bangladesh's claim of 200-nautical miles exclusive economic and territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal rejecting the claims of Myanmar, experts have said.

Posted in: Bangladeshi News