Positive remarks
I believe that should Bangladeshi foreign policy makers heed to the weight of Dr. Benkin's logic and with serious intent, contemplate as to how Dhaka can play its role in solving the crisis by initiating say, an informal dialogue among OIC member countries, for the benefit of the innocent people of Palestine and Israel in particular, and humanity in general, it would be a great service. And this tradition of preference for mediation, as Dr. Benkin points out, is the core value of Bangladeshi foreign policy, as evident in Dhaka's meditative roles in resolving Iran-Iraq War and to defuse regional tension, in proposing the formation of SAARC.
In this respect, as a first step, to deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict, to form a consultative forum within the OIC framework, Bangladesh can initiate a dialogue with OIC member nations such as Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, who already maintain diplomatic relation with Israel, and to make the forum effective, eventually, can bring in other member countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others, as directly they are not part of the conflict; therefore, would not mind in getting involved in the process.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In this process, to maintain communication with Tel Aviv, OIC member countries that already maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, can work as a feedback channel; on the other, rest of the forum members can serve as envoy to the Middle Eastern nations in which Dhaka would play the role of co-ordinator in the process, moderator in negotiation, and venue for consultation.
To solve the decade long ethnic conflict, should Bangladesh takes the initiative to break the inertia of non-communication and contribute to create an atmosphere for thaw, to the service of humanity, it would become a milestone of which one day, as a nation, would become proud of, and given that for half a century, the extent of senseless sufferings through which these two ethnic people have lived by, I am sure, the majority of Bangladeshis believe that they deserve an everlasting peace and that with great joy and pride, Bangladeshis would like to contribute to the peace process.