India's opposition Congress MP and senior leader Shashi Tharoor has expressed doubt that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is clearly aware of the role of UN peacekeeping forces. Shashi Tharoor spoke about this yesterday on Tuesday. Originally, he expressed this skepticism in response to the West Bengal Chief Minister's call for UN peacekeeping forces to be sent to Bangladesh.
Shashi Tharoor, MP for Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, told Indian news agency PTI that UN peacekeepers are rarely sent inside a country, and only when the country's government requests it.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday urged the central government to appeal to the United Nations to send peacekeeping forces in the wake of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. The Chief Minister also demanded that the Foreign Minister should clarify the country's position on the current situation of Bangladesh in the Parliament.
In the Assembly, Mamata said, “If necessary, discuss with the (interim) government there and send international peacekeeping forces to Bangladesh, so that they can help normalize the situation.” Apart from this, Mamata Banerjee in the Assembly sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the Indians who were persecuted abroad.
In this context, Shashi Tharoor said, 'I am not sure whether she (Mamata) is fully aware of the role of peacekeepers or not. I myself have worked in UN peacekeeping missions for many years. I can say that peacekeepers are rarely sent to a country and only when the country concerned wants it.'
The Congress leader further said, 'Peacekeepers are sent only when a country is completely broken and that too when the government of that country officially calls for them. But I absolutely agree that we have to keep an eye on the situation.'
Meanwhile, Dr. Bangladesh's interim government led by Muhammad Yunus expressed surprise at Mamata Banerjee's call to send UN peacekeepers to Dhaka. Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain expressed dissatisfaction with West Bengal Chief Minister's speech and said, 'I don't know, I don't understand, why Mamata Banerjee made such a comment. I know him personally and have visited his house many times.'
Touhid Hossain directly rejected West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's proposal to send United Nations peacekeeping force to Bangladesh yesterday in a briefing with foreign diplomats at Padma State Guest House in Dhaka. He said it was part of Mamata Banerjee's 'characteristics'. He commented that there is no basis in such a proposal.
Referring to Mamata Banerjee's proposal, Tauhid said, 'These are characteristic comments of Mamata. I see no basis for such a suggestion.' After the briefing, he told reporters, 'The misinformation being spread by a section of the media, especially the Indian media, about the persecution of minorities in Bangladesh is baseless. We have assured the diplomats that communal harmony is always maintained in Bangladesh.'
