Need for a "<i>security manual</i>"

14 January 2011, 18:00 PM

Ekram Kabir

Security has become a household word for a twenty-first century man. Attempts to redefine "security" are now something of a cottage industry. Anywhere you go, any seminar of workshop you attend, you'll have to listen to a whole lot of security issues and concerns which are worth paying heed to. Analysts say, any attempts to elaborate a comprehensive definition of security may be a work in vain. However, the academicians think security can be used in three meanings. "Traditional meaning" is an attribute of state, absence of military conflict - "military security". In a broader sense, security refers directly to the phenomena taking place in international relations, or directly/indirectly caused by inter-state relations. Security also means public good, and in a universal sense (of a unit and of a social entity) - human security. Speakers at Dhaka seminars and television talk shows do talk about security concerns but fail to come up with clear-cut proposals to stay "secure". The security talk in Bangladesh mostly revolves around terrorism and militancy. Other security issues are grossly ignored. But it's time for Bangladesh to think about all aspects of security and prepare a "national working paper" on all security threats. Many analysts say that Bangladesh doesn't need to worry about any military onslaught on its land because its neighbours will never come to invade it. They think Bangladesh's sovereignty will never be at stake, as its neighbours, such as India and Burma, would never disrupt Bangladesh's territorial integrity. But one needs to take a look at other issues and incidences that are tantamount to interfering in Bangladesh's national security. Deaths at the border at the hand of Indian border guards could be the cases in point. What would India do in case of deaths of Indian nationals at the hand of Bangladeshi border guards? What did Burma do when Bangladeshi border guards arrested one member of Burmese army along the border? In this case, Burmese army entered into Bangladesh. On the other hand, what does Bangladesh do when its citizens get killed along the border? According to Odhikar, a total of 843 Bangladeshi people have been killed by BSF between 1 January 2000 and 28 February 2010. Indian border guards resort to guns. Whether Bangladesh would do the same is a diplomatic and military decision. For a nation, the concept of security has changed after the Cold War. According to researchers and diplomats across the world, "traditionally, the concept of security in international relations has generally been addressed in the context of national security." During the Cold War era, people followed the decisions of the elite. In the current post-Cold War era, however, the character of conflicts has changed and the "people" have become the determinants. It has become increasingly clear that the successful attainment of national security, or the conclusion of peace pacts, does not necessarily bring "security" to people, and that people continue to suffer and die from insecurity resulting from war-related effects long after the war itself has come to an end, or national security is seemingly restored. And the UN says: "A core concern is to progress towards the construction of a new global order capable of placing human beings at its centre and for states, which continue to be the actors with the greatest relative power, to be able to efficiently guarantee people's security and contribute to overcoming the vulnerabilities and difficulties of hundreds of millions of human beings in acceding to progress and development." Bangladesh seems to have taken Gandhian concept security when it comes to Indian border guards killing innocent people. Now, if you look at the physical security of the citizens, Bangladeshis experience the horrors of road accidents, murders, police remand, and health and disaster-related insecurities. Governments have tried to raise some of these issues from time to time, but failed to ensure physical security for the citizens. Physical security means public safety an environment that ensures safe return home in the evening after going out for work in the morning. Along comes the financial or economic security for the people. The governments have been trying various means at the macro level. The micro level so far was left at the hands of the NGOs. The governments' "Dal-Bhat", "Goat-rearing" and "One Family, One Job" programmes have so far didn't yield any result and have remained political rhetoric. There's a need for strengthening social safety nets in the country. Mere VGD and VGF cards as well as a token amount of 300 taka elderly allowance don't take the people anywhere. Bangladesh constitution recognizes the need for social security in the form of public assistance (article 15). The present government's election manifesto pledged that the number of poor people will be reduced to 45 million from 65 million by 2013 and will further come down to 22 million in 2021. The Outline Perspectives Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021 mentions that a comprehensive social security system is necessary to implement vision 2021 (Planning Commission, 2010), that is, by 2013 poverty level and proportion of ultra-poor will be brought down to 25 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Social security may be conceptualised as "the protection which society provides for its members through a series of public measures against the economic and social distress which otherwise would be caused by the stoppage or substantial reduction of earnings resulting from sickness, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, invalidity, old age and death; the provision of medical care; and the provision of subsidies for families with children" (ILO, 1999). For 2010-11 the government has proposed 9,664 crore taka for social security and welfare. Then come food and environmental insecurities. Food security is more important than attaining self-sufficiency. Food security means ensuring supply and thus keeping the price within the reach of people. Lawmakers, economists and experts have always stressed the necessity of boosting local food production which is the only way to face threats by the global climate change to the food security of the country. In spite of the imminent danger posed by climate change and rise of the sea-level, the government is yet to formulate any policy to resist the conversion of arable land into non-farming purposes. Everyday hundreds of hectares are being transformed into sites for non-agricultural business. The government has to formulate a land reform policy immediately to prevent the further reduction of arable land for the sake of ensuring food security. Climate change has already reduced crop production in some parts of the country. Water-logging and salinity in the south-western region, where several thousand hectares of arable land remain under water, have further impoverished the poor people. Bangladesh has to give more allocation for research on new crop varieties that will resist water-logging, salinity and drought. The list of security concerns in Bangladeshis is quite long. One should also need to look at information, telecom and education sectors. The policy- and law-makers would do a great service to the country if they organize running a serious research on all aspects of security threats and put the solutions in one big handbook, which can also be called "Bangladesh Security Manual". Bangladesh has highly educated researchers and experts who could be assigned to do this. The National Defence College should also be involved in planning the security manual. However, one aspect should always be kept in mind that most of the big-scale studies in this country seem to have been funded by donors. This manual should be self-funded, otherwise the concerns would be influenced by the donors. When UK prepares its counterterrorism strategy, it doesn't ask any other nation to fund it. And when the EU wants to know about the future of South Asia, they don't ask any South Asian country to raise the fund; EU does the research with its own fund. It should be always kept in mind that "when the developed countries had developed, they didn't develop with donor money". Ekram Kabir is a journalist and a writer.