[Nordic Council]: Closed Session [9804-001]

[Connor]

X9804-001XXCLOSED SESSIONX
Subject: Situation in Bangladesh​

TOP SECRET | Copyright © Nordic Council​

 

[Connor]

By order of the Nordic Council Presidium the Nordic Council Chambers are announced into a closed session to discuss, with any available signatory state, the subject matter; namely the Situation in Bangladesh. This session has been designated a 'SECRET' classification and in accordance with the Communications Security and Classification Regulation will not be open to the public or press. All signatory states representation are formally invited to attend the chamber immediately.

President Jessica Polfjärd would take her seat at the front of the chamber, acting as the speaker for this session.

Following the short recess from the Emergency Session on the European Economic Crisis, Ambassadors would be encouraged to return to the chamber for this closed session. This was necessary to ensure the subject of conversation remained relevant and to ensure the necessary security protocols were in place to ensure the content of the meeting was held within the expectations of signatory states.

Jay Zak Vaka Nathan

 

[Zak]

Major General Kristin Lund would enter the chamber alongside her staff, she was dressed in full military attire as she took her seat at her assigned position with a bottle of water in hand as she flicked through notes and awaited the new meeting to begin.

Connor

 

[Jay]

The Ambassador would find a private space where he would call the Vice Minister in Seoul to get an understanding as to what was happening. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul was busy trying to brief the different agencies, officials, and keep the flow of information secure. Vice Minister Kim would be walking out of the briefing room with the National Security Council when his secretary transferred a phone call to him from Stockholm. Picking it up, the Vice Minister informed the Ambassador the situation was bad in Dhaka. They were talking hundreds killed in the bombings across the city. While no Koreans were killed, at least three security personnel were in critical conditions with their situation unknown. Two diplomats were suffering from unknown conditions as well, and ten other diplomats suffering injuries from bleeding ears, hearing issues, cuts and bruises. The security team suffered a number of injuries. The ROK Special Forces team had managed to disorient and ten detain all four insurgents and were being held in the Embassy away from open areas for their safety and treated for medical issues. The four members of the ROK Embassy in Stockholm which had be given special clearances to attend the briefing session to assist the Ambassador were brought up to speed on the situation.

Ambassador Lee and his team would be updated on their current information. With the situation still volatile, the Korean Navy had evacuated half the Embassy and they are being taken to some medical facility somewhere in the country. With 12 Special Operators and 2 Blackhawks but no sea-based ships to relocate personnel to, there was not much the Koreans could offer other than having military units in-country. The Foreign Minister however with the consent of the National Defense Ministry would allow the Ambassador to inform the council at his discretion. They would be in the view that it would be difficult to hide the special forces after they had been in combat in the country as well as the communications sent to the Bangladeshis. The Ambassador related the information he had heard from the Germans and the Nordic Member's seeking to deploy some military assets in region to the Vice Minister before he returned to the session.

After being briefed the Ambassador would return to the conference room, while coming back late than might have been anticipated he would see the room largely empty with what he expected was the German Ambassador also getting briefed. and his small team would get into the motorcade, reviewing the statements made thus far and alternative plans. Considering the attack's impact, it would be difficult to downplay the situation. The Council members may feel required to issue a stern response to an attack on its two observer states, but, Korea itself required a response that wasn't merely empty words or acts of aggression. The Korean Government would be trying to navigate this crisis on the backdrop of trying to work out reunification, an alliance, and so many hurdles. The Ambassador could not think about that now. He needed to focus on his job with the Council.

Connor

 

[Nathan]

The Danish representative would arrive at the meeting leaving the previous meeting he would arrive in minutes.

"Does anyone have any actual intel of direct threats against our embassies?"

 

[Zak]

"With the collapse of the German Government, I would like to begin todays meeting if appropriate Madam President as me and my team have conducted a threat assessment on risks posed to our embassy and it seems like that the risk to each of our embassies has subsided but I would like to move a number of forces into the region, not as an act of aggression but merely to support Bangladesh should they require support in defeating said terrorist and insurgent groups who pose a risk to the democratically elected government.

Said forces will also be in the region to act as a deterrent and if another incident occurs within the region, something which the Committee for Defence and Intelligence cannot rule out. We have passed on a number of documents onto member state representatives within Bangladesh suggesting that they return to some sort of normality but have heightened security measures in place incase another incident occurs."

Connor Nathan Jay

 

[Connor]

The President allows the Norwegian Ambassador to continue speaking to the chamber without interruption. This gave opportunity to the Swedish Ambassador to make notes relevant to the active threat against Swedish interests abroad; before leaning into the microphone and responding;

"Thank you for your risk assessment, however I have a few questions, it is clear the interests of our diplomatic missions abroad have been compromised to a position where the safety of staff and civilians within cannot be assured. This is unacceptable. Whilst I concur that we should enforce a stringent and delicately executed deployment of forces to ensure the integrity of the embassies targeted I am concerned that this will further undermine an already struggling government in Bangladesh - I am keen to avoid a Nordic Council involvement in a civil war and even more so be under-equipped for such. Have we received any word from Bangladesh directly on the threat level to our mission, the situation domestically and continued aggression? Does this assessment reflect that of the situation at the Embassy of Korea?"

Zak Jay Nathan

 

[Zak]

Major General Lund leaned into her microphone upon conclusion of the Swedish Ambassador finishing their statement.

"I am actively in contact with the Norwegian Government who are going to reach out to Bangladesh to offer our condolences and support in whatever way we can. From our understanding, no entity has claimed responsibility for the attack and major news organisations within the country are currently reporting that investigations are underway. Our risk assessment has factored in the Embassy of Korea, we are awaiting any information from our South Korean counterparts and offer our support to your government should they so need it. Has there been any word from your staff on the ground in Dhaka? Is there any news on the Ambassador?

I also support what the Danish Ambassador said within the previous session, rather than sending a full military force. It might be better for us to send a maritime force to the region to monitor and potentially intervene if Bangladesh needs support or in the case of another attack, to withdraw diplomatic staff on the ground."

Connor Jay Nathan

 

[Jay]

Ambassador Lee: "The assessment provided by the Committee for Defense and Intelligence while accurate in its position of the subsided risk, due to the attacks ending, the Republic of Korea believes this assessment is too premature. The motives for the attack are unknown. Especially in the consideration outside of the Embassy attacks, the attacks were aimed at the opposition party expected to win the election. The Korean Government is extremely concerned with the wider impact this attack has on democracy in Bangladesh, but also in the decreasing security situation across South Asia. The attacks come in the same context of the rising instability and insurgency in India which has led to the exodus of Korean nationals in the region by 97% including an evacuation by the ROK Air Force of 294 ROK citizens.

While we would shy away from labeling this a civil war, agree the security situation in South Asia is decreasing to a very concerning point. The Republic of Korea is in discussions with regional partners to address the situation that threatens maritime safety, public health and wellbeing, and global security. Based on the principles of cooperation, and in the good faith the discussions here remain confidential, the siege was only ended because the Korean Navy deployed an advanced team of special operators from New Delhi to Dhaka. The Korean Navy was able to apprehend all four perpetrators alive. All four perpetrators have been handed over to the Bangladeshi security services, as the Korean Navy had no legal abilities to detain the four Bengali Nationals. Based on the intelligence report supplied by the unit, they believe these attackers were highly trained and well-organized. With a degree of high English fluency and coordination of their attacks. No information was extracted during the brief detention period. However, this intelligence report if updated will be shared with the council in an appropriate manner.

As an observer in the Council's affairs, we hope we can extend our recommendation. That the council works to support the democratic institutions in Bangladesh, support the security forces, and work to ensure a secure environment conducive for economic growth. The Korean Government has seen the situation has incredibly volatile and we believe any unilateral military force may send the wrong message in trying to build partnerships. We believe the Council should take measures in conjunction with regional governments. However, we also urge the Committee to not lower the guard at this stage, as we do not know the full scope of these attacks or why they transpired."

Connor Zak Nathan

 

[Connor]

"I appreciate the input of both the Ambassador for the Republic of Korea and the Supreme Nordic Commander, this situation is undoubtedly difficult to properly assess given that so little verified information is known by the Nordic Council as a whole. I encourage all member states to feed as much intelligence to the Committee of Defence and Intelligence and subsequently NORSCOM. It's imperative that we build a proper picture of the situation, the threats and our contingencies.

I concur that the situation in South Asia is clearly in a difficult position and given the struggle to find sustainable and reliable governmental assets within the region I believe it's on the powers within this council to ensure we respond decisively not only to secure position for the actions that may follow in Bangladesh but also to display globally our commitment to ensuring the security of an ally; Korea. Whether this show of power is in a peaceful manner by securing our diplomatic missions and exercising our commitment to the Declaration of Human Rights remains to be said, but something has to be done and soon.

The decision by the Korean Navy to exercise their special forces was fundamental and a strong stepping stone into securing this region and subsequently the safety of our nations abroad. I am disturbed to hear how this is very clearly premeditated... and a much stronger force than a simple civilian uprising. I trust the view of the Republic of Korea given their proximity to the conflict and I beg the question directly to the Ambassador; whilst a unilateral military force may send the wrong message, do you believe the council should begin the preparation and deployment of maritime assets to the region?"

Jay

 

[Jay]

As what the Swedish Ambassador was translated, the South Korean military attache to the Embassy in Stockholm would walk in with a black briefcase as he joined the South Korean delegation inside the chambers. The Attache would hand the Ambassador some information about the security situation in South Asia. The Ambassador would not get much time to read it as the Swedish Ambassador has finished speaking.

Ambassador Lee: "Yes well, this is just an NIS analysis. We haven't verified the intelligence assessment. However, this is the only credible theory we have at the time. Hopefully Bangladeshi authorities will work closely with the NIS and share information about the attackers. However, the situation in South Asia has drastically declined. Especially with regards to India and the debt issues and military hardware unsecured. If the Nordic Council is to take steps, preparing a maritime task force may be an important consideration by NORSCOM of which the Republic of Korea would be responding after the Military Attache handed him a small note...that the Republic of Korea would be happy to cooperate with through fellow Asian partners in South Asia such as Bangladesh and India. The efforts of Council through constructive efforts is crucial, I hope NORSCOM can both balance its strategic interests in protecting its interest and working with regional nations in the ensuring multilateralism and not unilateralism is the driving vision."

Connor