Three years ago, on June 9, Sadequnnahar Sony, a student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), was killed in the crossfire between two factions of students' wing of a political party.

On March 17 this year, a microbus-driver, called Nazrul Islam, was killed in crossfire between the police and criminals at village in Natore.

Now what these three deaths signify? Don't they signify that life in Bangladesh is cheap? Should we, the citizens, take these deaths as God-sent, weep for a while, and get ready for many such deaths? But isn't it true if there were no firearms at the hands of terrorists, these people would be alive today? Maisha would have gone to school on Saturday after spending the weekend with her mum and dad; Sony would have become an engineer by now and join the country's workforce; and Nazrul would have been there to buy new clothes for his children in the coming Eid.

These lives would easily have been spared if there weren't so many illegal weapons in the wrong hands. And surprisingly, these three are not alone. About 100 innocent people were killed and 500 injured in bomb explosions in Bangladesh since 1999. Some of the injured never recovered and became disabled and the rest are still traumatised. The governments paid compensation to a few victims and their families, but could not complete even a single investigation into the bestial acts.

Women and children are major victims of these small arms. 3105 persons were murdered in the country in 2001; more than 1500 were murdered with guns. Most of the women and girls murdered were killed after rape. 923 persons were abducted at gunpoint in the same year, 57 per cent were women and girl children. 1673 women and girls were raped in the same year, mostly at gunpoint.

The use of illegal weapons has a direct effect on the country's social, economic and political problems. Armed robberies of horrendous dimensions continue to make life unsafe with the law enforcement agencies making little headway in cracking down on the dens of the hardened criminals. During the much-discussed Operation Clean Heart, professional killers and robbers lay low but with the soldiers back to the barracks they are reappearing with seemingly new zeal. The Bureau of Human Rights, Bangladesh said that 102 people were killed and another 2, 279 injured in robbery-related incidents in 2003.

Recently, after the August 21 grenade attack and a lot of international commotion, there seems to be a sudden awakening on the fact that illegal weapons are killing people and when the entire country is panic-stricken due to bomb scares. And possibly that is why the RAB since beginning their operation till 31 August have arrested a total of 201 terrorists and recovered at least 126 illegal weapons of different types. According to the administration, it is being done to ensure security to the people.

Media reports show that many are questioning about arms suppliers in Bangladesh. However, very few have questioned the demand side of the matter. If there were no 'demand' for guns in Bangladesh, why would any supplier send or bring arms in the country? And of course, somebody must be gaining from the use of illegal guns. Isn't it quite telling who are actually gaining from so many deaths?

Here lies the fallacy of 'ensuring security' in Bangladesh. Humans have never been brought to the centre of 'security' in the country.

No one ever thought a 'human security' approach differs from more traditional approaches to security. Human security focuses on the security of people and their communities. Human security also broadens the scope of the concept from a narrow range of military threats to a broader range of threats that impact on the safety of individuals. While there is no dearth of insecurity (health, environment, poverty, etc.) in Bangladesh, no one at the policymaking level had really thought that 'people-centred' security is the most significant. And in the context of small arms, ensuring people's safety from physical violence due to armed conflicts should be at the core of the human security agenda.

On the contrary, the society in Bangladesh has gradually become a 'weaponised' society. The most non-violent person in the country today also feels the urgency of possessing a weapon for his/her and family's security. This cannot continue for long. There has to be an awakening on adopting a 'human security' perspective that focuses on the human costs of the widespread availability of small arms. This means greater attention to violations of human rights and humanitarian laws, and to the impact that these arms have on public health, public safety, and the prospects for human development.

A particularly important dimension of the human security side of the demand for small arms is the potential for a deteriorating spiral of weaponisation, particularly in the civilian sector. But an English daily reported on September 11 that Bangladesh's sea ports, coastal regions and frontier areas close to Myanmar and India are serving as safe sanctuaries for powerful international and regional cartels involved in supply of illegal arms, explosives and ammunition through various channels. Well-established drug-running networks are also used to traffic arms. The report said that an estimated 600 to 700 units of firearms enter Bangladesh through the border from India and Myanmar every month. At least 37 illegal arms-smuggling syndicates are active in the Chittagong region.

Obviously, these arms are meant to be used to shoot humans. The more Bangladesh's rulers refrain from taking actions against this massive proliferation of illegal weapons, the more they would have to shoulder the responsibility of lost lives.

So, what's stopping them to plug the loopholes?

Ekram Kabir, a journalist, has a published study on "Unauthorised Small Arms in Bangladesh: Impediments to Democratisation".