Shashi Tharoor, renowned Indian politician and member of the parliament, on Tuesday, responded to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s request for deploying a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bangladesh.
Tharoor expressed doubts about Mamata’s understanding of the role of UN peacekeepers, saying that they are rarely sent into a country without a request from its government.
Speaking to Indian news agency PTI, Tharoor said: “UN peacekeepers are very rarely sent inside any country except for when its government itself makes a request.”
He added that peacekeepers are typically deployed only when a country has completely collapsed, and even then, the government must request their presence.
On Monday, while addressing the West Bengal state assembly, Mamata urged the Indian government to move the United Nations to deploy peacekeeping forces in Bangladesh, where minorities are reportedly under attack.
She also called on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to inform Parliament of the nation’s stance on the current situation.
“If required, let an international peacekeeping force be sent to Bangladesh after talking to the (interim) government there to help them restore normalcy,” Mamata said.
Tharoor, who has extensive experience working with UN peacekeeping, responded: “I am not sure if she fully understands the role of UN peacekeepers. Having worked in UN peacekeeping myself for many years, I can tell you that UN peacekeepers are very rarely sent inside any country except for the request by any country.”
Mamata also appealed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for intervention in bringing back persecuted Indians from foreign soil.
In the past two days, tensions have escalated between India and Bangladesh following an attack on the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala by a group of protesters from the Hindu Sangarsha Samiti.
The incident, which involved vandalism and the desecration of the Bangladeshi national flag, has led to Bangladesh summoning the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka and calling for a thorough investigation.
The Indian government has expressed regret over the incident and assured increased security measures for Bangladeshi missions in India.
