Bangladesh invokes Vienna Convention to seek safety of its diplomats in India

New Delhi: Dhaka on Monday invoked the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 to lodge a protest in New Delhi over what it called a ‘heinous attack’ on the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala even as the Government of India already termed the incident as “deeply regrettable”.

The interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka also reacted to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s call for the deployment of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Bangladesh, saying that it was “not the right move” on her part.

“I would like to see this as Mamata-like remarks. I don't understand why she has made such remarks,” said Md Touhid Hossain, the advisor on foreign affairs of the interim government of Bangladesh.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Government of Bangladesh issued a statement in Dhaka, stating that it deeply resented the “violent demonstration and attack” by a large group of protesters of the Hindu Sangharsh Samity of Agartala on the premises of the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in the capital of Tripura, a northeastern state of India.

The breach of premises at the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala is deeply regrettable, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi. “Diplomatic and consular properties should not be targeted under any circumstances. (The) government is taking action to step up security arrangements for the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and their Deputy/Assistant High Commissions in the country,” it added.

“The accounts received conclusively attest that the protesters were allowed to aggress into the premises, by breaking down the main gate of Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in a pre-planned manner," the MFA of the Government of Bangladesh stated. “In the process, in the presence of the members of the local law enforcement agencies, they vandalised the flagpole, desecrated the national flag of Bangladesh, and also damaged properties inside the Assistant High Commission,” it alleged.

The local police personnel present on the scene to protect the premises were found not to be active in containing the situation from the beginning, alleged the interim Government of Bangladesh, adding: “All members of the Assistant High Commission are left with a deep sense of insecurity”.

Dhaka asked New Delhi to take steps to prevent any further acts of violence against the diplomatic missions of Bangladesh in India and to ensure the safety and security of the diplomats and the non-diplomatic members of staff and members of their families. “This particular act in Agartala stands in violation of the inviolability of diplomatic missions, as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, asks for,” it added.

Dhaka alleged that a similar violent demonstration had taken place in front of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata on November 28.