Verdict on Maritime Dispute with Myanmar Today

BANGLADESH MYANMAR

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will deliver its judgment on Wednesday on the dispute over delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal.

Judge José Luis Jesus is scheduled to read the judgment at 4:30pm (BST).

The ITLOS, a permanent judicial body created by the UN Convention Law of Sea (UNCLOS) and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the judgment would decide whether Bangladesh would have to limit its access to 130 nautical mile (NM) sea area or it would have 200 NM economic exploitation zone (EEZ) and continental shelf extends up to 400-460 NM (850km) southwards from the country's coastline.

Dhaka is eagerly waiting for getting justice in the crucial judgment.

“We believe the court will consider our equitable solution method which we stand for. We have heard counter argument from our opponent Myanmar and we are optimistic to get justice from the court,” said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni ahead of her departure for Germany to present during the verdict.

Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshid Alam, additional secretary at the Foreign Ministry, who played the key role in the legal battle, is now also in Hamburg.

Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN on October 8, 2009 after the India and Myanmar "unfairly" cut off a significant portion of Bangladesh's maritime area in the Bay and such "an unlawful way" apparently sandwiched Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's objection to Myanmar's claim was lodged with the UN's ITLOS and its objection to Indian claim was filed with the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, Netherlands. The arbitration with India is expected to be settled in 2014.

Bangladesh favours a principle based on "equity" while India and Myanmar favours "equidistance" system to get bigger maritime areas.

Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.

According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of equity, and in the light of relevant circumstances. And that makes Bangladesh's demand for equity-based demarcation justified.

Dhaka, Delhi talk Trade Glitches Mar 28

BANGLADESH INDIA

Dhaka, Mar 13  After a break of nearly nine years the commerce secretaries of Bangladesh and India are scheduled to meet on Mar 28 in New Delhi to discuss issues hindering boost to bilateral trade ties.

"This is the first secretary-level meeting since 2003 and we expect to boost trade relations further through this meeting," director general of foreign ministry Mashfee Bintee Shams on Tuesday.

The Bangladesh delegation, led by commerce secretary Mohammad Golam Hossain, will draw 10 other members from foreign, jute, textile, shipping, and communications ministries, tax office, Tariff Commission and BSTI (Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute).

The issues expected to come up for discussion include trade agreement renewal, opening new border haats, mutual accreditation, investment, development of land ports and land customs stations, and ensuring uninterrupted supply of raw materials and commodities to Bangladesh, said a source in the commerce ministry.

"We are dependent on raw materials and commodities from the neighbouring India. But time to time India slaps ban on commodities like cotton, onion, rice, etc. causing difficulties for us," he said.

"We will try to impress upon them to ensure uninterrupted supply," he added.

TRADE AGREEMENT

The trade agreement between the two countries will expire Mar 31 this year and renewal of the agreement would be one of the agendas, a commerce ministry official said.

India has proposed to extend the agreement for the next three years against a Bangladesh proposal that it could be extended for six months without any amendment to the existing one.

"Indian side also proposed to bring some amendments to the agreement but we declined as we need time to review the proposals," he added.

The amendment proposals include automatic renewal of the agreement, and any protocol or memorandum of understanding becoming an integral part of the pact, the officials said.

The Bangladesh-India trade agreement was signed in 1972 and it is renewed every three years.

BORDER HAATS

Bangladesh and India want to open five more border haats along Meghalaya-Tripura borders.

"The border haat at Sunamganj along Meghalaya border is ready and it will be inaugurated shortly," he said.

The first haat was opened at Kurigram-Meghalaya border last year.

Four border haats will be opened along Tripura border, officials said.

BILATERAL TRDE

The two-way trade between the two countries reached about $5 billion, though tilting heavily towards India. Bangladesh exported about $500 million worth of products while imports stood at $4 billion in the last fiscal.

Indian allowed duty- and quota-free access to all products except liquor and cigarette items from Bangladesh last year.

At Least 36 Dead 200 Missing; Vessel Could not be Salvaged yet from 70 feet Under Meghna Water

DHAKA NEWS

At least 36 people died and more than 200 others went missing when a packed passenger launch capsized in the river Meghna after colliding with a cargo vessel at Gazaria in Munshiganj yesterday.

The accident happened around 2:30am when a large cargo vessel hit the Dhaka-bound launch, MV Shariatpur-1, at Char Kishori, some 30 km south of the capital.

Hitting the launch, which was carrying more than 250 passengers, the cargo vessel sped away, survivors said, adding that it was a bulky tanker.

Those missing include a photojournalist and his wife and a few expatriate Bangladeshis, police and survivors said.

Rescuers recovered 31 bodies as of 8:00pm yesterday when the first phase of the rescue operation ended. The operation was scheduled to resume at 7:00am today.

Later at about 11:45pm yesterday, locals found five other bodies floating in the river, said Mahfuzul Haque, additional district magistrate of Munshiganj.

Thirty-one bodies were handed over to their families, said Deputy Commissioner Azizul Alam.

Dulal Dewan, a survivor, said the double-decker launch left Naria in Shariatpur with more than 250 passengers for Dhaka around 9:30pm on Monday.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) Chairman Shamsuddoha Khandker also put the number between 250 and 300.

The 32-metre launch was built in 1991 and had permission to carry 225 passengers at night, said BIWTA Secretary M Mahbubul Alam.

Divers traced the sunken launch some 70 feet under water, but till last night they were yet to salvage it.

Rescue vessel MV Rustam reached the spot at 8:30am yesterday and the salvage was due to start after the arrival of Hamza, a tug vessel.

BIWTA officials said Hamza was scheduled to arrive at 12:00 midnight today, some 22 hours after the accident.

"Hamza was anchored in Barisal. It is taking time to reach the spot as it is running against the current," said the BIWTA secretary.

The BIWTA chairman said it would take time to lift the 200-tonne launch, as the lifting capacity of MV Rustam and Hamza combined is 120 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the shipping ministry, shipping department and BIWTA formed three committees to probe the accident.

The shipping ministry asked the heads of the committees to submit the reports within five to seven days.

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan visited the scene in the afternoon and announced a compensation of Tk 30,000 for each dead. Families having more than one victim will get Tk 45,000.

He also claimed that the process of forming the riverine police for ensuring safe travel on waterways was underway.

Dulal Dewan, who managed to reach shore, that eight of his family members were missing. Of them, his brother-in-law Shamim Fakir and his wife Poly were scheduled to catch an 11:30am flight from Dhaka to the US.

Mamun Chowdhury, a cameraman of Independent television, was in tears as he searched for his brother, Masud Chowdhury, also a senior cameraman at Banglavision.

Masud's wife was also missing, Mamun said.

Immediately after the accident, MV Mitali, another passenger launch, coming from behind rescued around 30 passengers.

On receiving the information, members of Bangladesh Coast Guard, Rapid Action Battalion, police and fire brigade reached the spot and began rescue operations.

“We spotted the launch at Char Kishori at 11:30am,” the BIWTA chairman told this correspondent.

Deputy Speaker Col (retd) Shawkat Ali and local lawmaker M Idris Ali also visited the scene.

Launch Capsize Toll Shoots to 63

DHAKA NEWS

Bodies of 27 more passengers were recovered from the Meghna river Wednesday morning, sending the death toll from Tuesday’s launch capsize to 63.

Rescuers recovered the bodies after they resumed rescue operation around 7:00am at Char Kishori in Gazaria upazila of the district where the launch, MV Shariatpur-1, capsized after a cargo vessel hit it early Tuesday.

The first phase of the rescue operation ended Tuesday night after the rescuers recovered 36 bodies.

More than 200 passengers still remain missing, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.

To expedite the salvage operation, rescue vessel Hamza reached Char Kishori from Barisal around 1:30am on Wednesday to join another rescue vessel Rustom, which was working at the spot since Tuesday morning.

Hamza and Rustom started operation to salvage the sunken launch from 70 feet under water around 7:30am. The vessels dragged the launch towards the shore around 9:00am and kept it six metres off the bank.

But officials of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) said it would take time to lift the 200-tonne launch, as MV Rustam and Hamza together cannot lift anything weighing more than 120 tonnes.

 Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Azizul Alam said 40 of the dead victims were identified so far and handed over to their families.

Our reporter covering the spot said wailing of the relatives has created a heart- rending scene at Char Kishori as hundreds of people rushed there in the morning for their dear ones after the rescue operation resumed. The relatives spend the whole night at a temporary shelter centre set up at Char Kishoreganj adjacent to the spot.

10 RAB men Sued for Looting

CHITTAGONG NEWS

Chittagong, Mar 13  A robbery case has been filed against a former commander and nine RAB men for looting over Tk 20 million from a shrine in Chittagong.

Former chief of RAB-7, Lt Col Zulfikar Ali Majumdar has been named as the main accused while nine others are captain Wahidul Hasan, deputy additional director Abul Bashar, sub-inspectors Tarun Kumar Basu and Nayek Hasanuzzaman, assistant sub-inspectors Ali Ashraf and Jahangir Alam, Nayek Mohammad Liton, constable Sumon and soldier Jasim Uddin.

All of the accused were deputed at RAB-7 stationed in Chittagong.

Two informer of the elite crime fighting force – namely Didarul Alam and Anwar Mia – were also sued.

Mohammad Idris, a driver of Talsara Darbar Sharif at Anwara upazila, filed the case with Anwara Police Station on Tuesday noon, OC Mohammad Shahjahan .

According to case details, the RAB personnel looted the money from the shrine in the name of a raid on Nov 4, 2011. A RAB team led by Zulfikar Ali Majumdar raided the shrine and looted the money after breaking open an almira.

The RAB personnel also arrested five Myanmar nationals from the shrine and handed them over to the police station, but did not mention the money.

The authorities of Talsara Darbar Sharif lodged a written complaint with the police station but no case was lodged.

As the news spread, OC Shahjahan said that the RAB headquarters had formed an investigation committee.

The accused RAB men were withdrawn from their duties after a primary investigation confirmed their involvement, said the Anwara OC.