Guterres has ‘serious concern’ over Bangladesh deploying UN-marked vehicles during riots: Spokesperson

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed “serious concern” over reports that authorities had deployed vehicles with UN markings during the Bangladesh riots, his Spokesperson said.

UN staff there had “seen disturbing reports of UN-marked vehicles that may have been used during the developments we’ve seen in Bangladesh over the last few days,” Guterres’s Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

UN troops and police-contributing countries should use the UN insignia on equipment “only when they are performing mandated tasks as part of a UN peacekeeping or UN political mission,” he added.

“Our serious concern in this regard has been conveyed to the relevant authorities in Bangladesh by our colleagues,” he said.

Bangladesh with 5,859 troops on UN peacekeeping operations has access to vehicles and equipment with UN markings meant for use in other countries where its personnel are deployed on the world organisation’s missions.

Bangladesh is the third-largest contributor of personnel to current UN peacekeeping operations.

Dujarric said that Guterres is “deeply concerned” about the reports that more than 100 people have been killed in the violence in Bangladesh and over 1,000 injured.

He said that the Secretary-General has seen the reports about the Supreme Court ruling in Bangladesh scaling back the job quotas and the students’ groups’ decision to suspend their agitation for 48 hours.

“He very much hopes that both these decisions will help create a conducive environment for dialogue. He urges all sides to avoid violence and negotiate in good faith,” Dujarric added.

Student groups were protesting the 30 per cent government job reservations for the family members of the Bangladesh freedom fighters who fought against Pakistani troops and their supporters who carried out the genocide.

Three million Bangladeshis were killed during the 1971 War of Independence, according to Bangladesh authorities.

The Supreme Court on Sunday ordered the reservation for freedom fighters’ relatives cut to five per cent.

Asked about reports of Bangladeshi protesters in the United Arab Emirates receiving long prison sentences, Dujarric said, “We’ve seen the disturbing reports of very harsh sentences being meted out.”

“As we do everywhere else, we feel that it is very important for people to have the right to express themselves freely and peacefully without fear of arrest or worse,” he added.

The Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi sentenced three Bangladeshi protesters to life terms, one to an 11-year sentence and 53 to a 10-year jail term, according to reports.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)

–IANS