+ New Delhi was at its crudest when it conveyed to Dhaka India's inability to attend the SAARC meeting. Natwar Singh, who presides over the ministry of foreign affairs, is the last person who should be asked to handle jobs demanding finesse. He is too arrogant and too hawkish to care about tact and nuance. When the government decided to abstain from the meeting, he reportedly entrusted his foreign secretary with the task of communicating "no" to India's high commissioner at Dhaka. But before the high commissioner could convey the message to the Bangladesh government, the news was on television channels in Dhaka. Even without ensuring that India's decision reached the right quarters, New Delhi disseminated the information to the media. +
Dak Bangla: http://dakbangla.blogspot.com/2005/02/india-new-delhis-response-to-events-in.html 15/02/2005 Diplomacy won't hurt - New Delhi's response to events in Bangladesh lacks finesse KULDIP NAYAR WHEN it comes to the feelings of neighbouring countries, our government is inclined to be insensitive. It behaves like any other big power which believes that equality in diplomatic jargon is all right as far as it goes â but when the chips are down, small countries must know their place. New Delhi was at its crudest when it conveyed to Dhaka India's inability to attend the SAARC meeting. Natwar Singh, who presides over the ministry of foreign affairs, is the last person who should be asked to handle jobs demanding finesse. He is too arrogant and too hawkish to care about tact and nuance. When the government decided to abstain from the meeting, he reportedly entrusted his foreign secretary with the task of communicating "no" to India's high commissioner at Dhaka. But before the high commissioner could convey the message to the Bangladesh government, the news was on television channels in Dhaka. Even without ensuring that India's decision reached the right quarters, New Delhi disseminated the information to the media. Naturally, Bangladesh â the host of the SAARC summit â felt cut up. A country which is always on the edge when it comes to dealing with India felt humiliated. I can't understand why Natwar Singh could not pick up the telephone and inform the Bangladesh foreign minister himself? Would it have ruffled diplomatic feathers or violated some protocol rules? The royal coup in Nepal was a good enough reason for India to stay away. But the way events unfolded, the picture that emerged was different. Look at it from Bangladesh's point of view. The meeting was cancelled twice when Dhaka was all set to attract the spotlight. Bangladesh, after all, does not get too many opportunities to play a prominent role in the region. The SAARC gathering gave the country a sense of importance. Anyone could have figured out that cancellation would disappoint the people of that country. And since India's inability to participate led to the calling off of the meeting, anger was bound to be directed at New Delhi. Advertisement India's fault lay in confusing SAARC objectives with its own reactions. It made sense when it was said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not be seen shaking hands with the Nepalese king, just days after he had smothered democracy. But why did New Delhi dwell on developments in Bangladesh while explaining its absence? SAARC is a forum of governments, however wanting. India is only a participant. New Delhi could have glossed over the developments in Bangladesh for the time being. No doubt Dhaka presented security risks in the wake of disturbances due to the murder LINK http://indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=64690 -- Dak Bangla is a Bangladesh based South Asian Intelligence Scan Magazine. URL: http://www.dakbangla.blogspot.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
