SAARC Secretary General visits Bangladesh; People of the ethnic communities of plain land in Dinajpur form a human chain for their three point demand; Dhaka reiterates that no physical space available to accommodate refugees from Myanmar anymore;
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    • As part of his introductory visit to member states, SAARC Secretary General Ahmed Saleem made three day official visit to Bangladesh on June 18, 2012.1 During his stay, Ahmed Saleem paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her office on June 19, 2012.

    Reports noted that people of the ethnic communities of plain land in Dinajpur formed a human chain in front of deputy commissioner's office on June 17, 2012 to press upon their three-point demand which includes a separate land commission. The other demands include freeing their lands from encroachers and halting drive to evict them from their ancestral land in the name of aforestation. 2

    According to reports, Dhaka has reiterated its stance that it has no physical space available to accommodate refugees from Myanmar anymore and urged the international community to share the burden of refugee pressure. Bangladesh foreign ministry officials said they were disturbed as diplomats of some specific countries and UN agencies continued requesting them to allow the refugees to enter Bangladesh despite Dhaka's firm rebuff. 3
    Reports noted that Indian Border Security Force (BSF) is all set to install surveillance and communication equipment on the international border that Meghalaya shares with Bangladesh. Disclosing this at the Meghalaya Frontier Headquarters of the BSF on June 23, 2012, Utthan Kumar Bansal, Director General of BSF noted, "The state government and intelligence reports have hinted at cross-border movement of militants." 4

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