Arms cache

I think Bangladesh might have become a suitable transit route for arms supply used by a global arms syndicate. The government should keep the intelligence agencies and coast guards on a state of maximum alert. I hope a fair and thorough investigation into the matter will unearth the mystery behind it.

The size of the recent arms haul in Chittagong was really awesome. When I saw the news bar of a TV channel, I thought it to be a typing mistake. But the news bulletins that followed transformed my disbelief to awe and surprise. Ten truckloads of sophisticated arms and ammunition are a hell of a lot of thing to be taken lightly. The state minister in charge of home affairs made some cautious remarks and referred to the impending investigation. All the intelligence agencies and other experts must be already at work to find out the real culprits and their plan. Although this is the biggest ever arms haul, many earlier haul mysteries still remain unsolved. The Bogra, Cox's bazaar and even the Badda haul investigation could not make any headway.

As the men behind the highly profitable arms trade remain out of reach, smuggling must be going on unabated. The arms cache may be just the tip of the iceberg. It should be understood that the volume of arms and ammo gives definite indications about the involvement of highly organised international gangs in the deal. Earlier investigations by our local police and other agencies proved futile. Routinely, some locals were nabbed, remanded and interrogated and ultimately the case was put in the cold storage. Some political allegations and counter allegations put spices in the ensuing media coverage. And that's the end to the incident.

So far we have not seen large-scale use of such sophisticated arms in Bangladesh, but possibilities run quite high. Why don't we hire some reputable international investigation agency to unearth the whole thing, including the suppliers, carriers and the end users. In these days of international war against terror, we can definitely elicit active cooperation from the developed countries and international agencies. We don't want to see another case of ' missed opportunity'. It is becoming increasingly dangerous to our awe-stricken society.

M Sanaul Huq, Uttara,Dhaka

I read the lead news with awe but no surprise. Being an ordinary citizen, I understand one thing. In any trade, stakeholders look for the safest way to play the game. Bangladesh at present, with the given law and order and governance situation, may be considered a safe route as well as a safe haven for criminals who may like to use the weapons here. It is reported that the arms and ammunition were all brand new and of Chinese origin. Though it is worth noting that neither the police nor the intelligence agencies could say where the arms shipment was heading for, our state minister for home, who flew to Chittagong the same afternoon, did not hesitate to pronounce the solution, immediately pointing his finger to the main opposition political party. This is unfortunate because his remarks will point the investigation to a definite direction, which may provide the needed opportunity to the real culprits to cover themselves up. However, this is not new in our country.

We have seen how in the past so many incidents went without finding the culprits worth naming. Investigations into many cases did not yield any results during the tenures of both the major parties. I apprehend that like the arms haul in Bogra, this will also suffer the same fate. The actors of bomb blasts at Udichi and Ramna , it now appears, will never be identified and punished . Big parties, while in power, always cover the goons and when any incident comes to the knowledge of the public, they mislead the investigation.

Muhammad Ali, On e-mail

While fully agreeing with your editorial (National security at stake - Seek international help now, The Daily Star, 4th April '04) that the Interpol or some other internationally known investigating agency should be engaged for enquiring into the recent arms haul at Chittagong, I would also request the authorities to get in touch with people like Alex Perry of the Time magazine of the USA. Anyone interested in knowing what is happening in this country should read the article 'Deadly Cargo' at Chittagong, by Alex Perry, October 21, 2002/Vol. 160.No.15 of the Time Magazine. As far as I know the government prohibited the entry of that edition of the Time Magazine at that time. But it was available in the Internet.

AZM Abdul Ali, Uttara, Dhaka