Military

DATE=02/05/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-299249

TITLE=CQ INDIA BANGLADESH (L-O)

BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA

DATELINE=NEW DELHI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

///EDS: REMOVES REFERENCE TO LENGTH IN KM OF BORDER IN GRAF AFTER ADVANI ACT./// AUDIO MUST CONFORM. NO OTHER CHANGES.///

INTRO: Tensions between India and Bangladesh are intensifying as a dispute rages on the nationality of more than 200-people stranded on their common border. Anjana Pasricha reports as arguments heat up over what India says is a massive influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants - a charge Bangladesh denies.

TEXT: The dispute centers on 213 Bengali Muslims, most of them snake-charmers, now living in a no-man's land between the two countries. Neither country wants to let them in.

New Delhi says they are Bangladeshis caught trying to sneak into West Bengal state last week. Dhaka says they are Indians, and is refusing to let them in to Bangladesh.

Tension along the no-man's land is escalating. Bangladeshi border guards are on high alert and India has sent in extra troops. Dhaka says its border guards and Indian troops have exchanged fire at least twice this week. India denies such incidents, but Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes says things are getting "out of control" on the border.

The snake-charmers were trapped after New Delhi announced a crackdown last month on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Dhaka strongly denies there is any such movement from its side into India.

Indian Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, on a visit to Singapore, says illegal immigration from Bangladesh is a major problem for India - and Dhaka must address the issue.

/// ADVANI ACT ///

If we want to tackle the problems of internal security effectively, this (illegal immigration) is something that has to be stopped and reversed. I would urge the government of Bangladesh to cooperate in this matter, and see that illegal immigrants to India are taken by Bangladesh.

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Indian officials say there are an estimated 20-million Bangladeshis living illegally in the country, and that they pose a security risk. They accuse Bangladeshi border guards of helping people cross a porous common border. Bangladeshi officials accuse Indian troops of attempting to force hundreds of Bengali-speaking muslims onto its soil during the past two-weeks.

Meanwhile, the people caught in the middle are camped in tents, and are reported to be living in miserable conditions without adequate food or medicine. Reports say many are getting sick.

Relations between Dhaka and New Delhi are usually cordial, but the issue of illegal immigration has always been sensitive. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/AJ/MH/RAE/RH