DIPLOMATIC SECURITY

No armed pvt security guards: Govt

On payment service of armed Ansars proposed

The government has decided to turn down the requests of foreign diplomatic missions, including the United States embassy, to allow private security personnel to carry arms to provide additional security, government officials told The Independent yesterday.
Instead, they said that the government has put forward a proposal to the diplomatic missions that they can use selected armed personnel of Bangladesh Ansar on payment for security in addition to the one already provided by the host country.
The decision to provide the services of Ansar personnel was taken in the forth meeting of the Taskforce for Security for Diplomatic Missions and Foreign Nationals on Tuesday with Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair, said the officials.  “We cannot entertain the requests of some diplomatic missions to allow private security personnel to carry arms as in order to do so we need to amend the concerned law(s),” a senior government official familiar with the diplomatic security said yesterday.
However, he said, “The government has devised an alternative way to help the diplomatic missions to get additional security.”
“Note verbale (letter of government diplomatic communication) was sent to all the diplomatic missions yesterday (Tuesday) detailing all the terms and conditions,” said another official.
According to the officials concerned, a pool of Ansar personnel has already been selected and trained for this purpose. The training includes etiquette and manners, they said.
The cost of service of an Ansar will be $250 per month, the officials said.
Any diplomatic mission can avail of this service, they informed. Following the killings of Italian national Cesare Tavella and Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi last year, some missions, including the embassies of the US and Spain became worried about their security and thought of additional security for them, the officials said.
They floated this idea of armed private security guards in addition to the beefed-up security already provided by the government, they said.
Following the death of USAID Bangladeshi official Xulhaz Mannan and his friend, the US embassy and some other embassies started pressing on this issue prompting the government to come up with a plan to provide additional security for the diplomatic missions and foreigners, said the official.

DIPLOMATIC SECURITY

No armed pvt security guards: Govt

On payment service of armed Ansars proposed

The government has decided to turn down the requests of foreign diplomatic missions, including the United States embassy, to allow private security personnel to carry arms to provide additional security, government officials told The Independent yesterday. Instead, they said that the government has put forward a proposal to the diplomatic missions that they can use selected armed personnel of Bangladesh Ansar on payment for security in addition to the one already provided by the host country. The decision to provide the services of Ansar personnel was taken in the forth meeting of the Taskforce for Security for Diplomatic Missions and Foreign Nationals on Tuesday with Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali in the chair, said the officials. We cannot entertain the requests of some diplomatic missions to allow private security personnel to carry arms as in order to do so we need to amend the concerned law(s), a senior government official familiar with the diplomatic security said yesterday. However, he said, The government has devised an alternative way to help the diplomatic missions to get additional security. Note verbale (letter of government diplomatic communication) was sent to all the diplomatic missions yesterday (Tuesday) detailing all the terms and conditions, said another official. According to the officials concerned, a pool of Ansar personnel has already been selected and trained for this purpose. The training includes etiquette and manners, they said. The cost of service of an Ansar will be $250 per month, the officials said. Any diplomatic mission can avail of this service, they informed. Following the killings of Italian national Cesare Tavella and Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi last year, some missions, including the embassies of the US and Spain became worried about their security and thought of additional security for them, the officials said. They floated this idea of armed private security guards in addition to the beefed-up security already provided by the government, they said. Following the death of USAID Bangladeshi official Xulhaz Mannan and his friend, the US embassy and some other embassies started pressing on this issue prompting the government to come up with a plan to provide additional security for the diplomatic missions and foreigners, said the official.