‘Fresh Rohingya infiltration an extra burden’

Fresh infiltration of Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities of Myanmar into Bangladesh will be an additional burden on the country, experts say. They also say once these people cross over to Bangladesh, it is hard to repatriate them in the foreseeable future. All border points should be sealed and the international community has to understand that the internal problems of Myanmar have to be resolved in their own country, they note.

Preferring anonymity, some of the former ambassadors say that when Myanmar residents face any persecution in their own land due to internal conflicts, the crisis has to be tackled there. If the inhabitants reach the borders after covering a long distance, it becomes very difficult to push them back, they add. Citizens of Myanmar, including different ethnic minorities, started fleeing Rakhine state due to recent clashes between the Myanmar army and the Rakhine army.

Meanwhile, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, before making his maiden official visit to India, told journalists on Wednesday that Bangladesh had closed its border because of the recent spate in conflicts in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

“A large number of Rohingyas have already been given shelter here. This has posed a huge problem for us. Other countries can now open their borders,” he said.

Bangladesh has been providing shelter to over 10 million Rohingyas who fled Myanmar due to atrocities by the Myanmar army in the Rakhine state in 2017. Even though the Bangladesh government has put pressure on Myanmar through different countries and international communities, including the United Nations, there is still no sign of repatriation of the Rohingyas.

Although there was a glimmer of hope for the repatriation process before the general election (held on December 30 last year), the process was halted due to the doubts expressed by the international community.

Under such circumstances, the fresh infiltration of the Buddhists of Myanmar through the Bandarban border has created an additional concern for Bangladesh.  

On Tuesday, the foreign ministry had summoned the ambassador of Myanmar, U Lwin Oo, and protested against the fresh infiltration of Myanmar citizens through the Bangladesh border. The envoy was told such infiltration due to the conflicts of Arakan army in Rakhine was a matter of serious concern.

Meanwhile, in reply to a query of journalists at the Secretariat yesterday, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said additional members of the Border Guard of Bangladesh and Coast Guard had been deployed to prevent fresh infiltration of Myanmar nationals.

Former ambassadors recently said Bangladesh pressurise the international community through different countries, especially China and India, to address the Rohingya crisis.

Ambassador M Humayun Kabir recently said: “The key player is China. We need to manage China to address the crisis. If we can’t do it directly, we can encourage other friends like ASEAN partners, India, and Japan to influence China.”

Meanwhile, ministry sources said the foreign minister yesterday in Delhi requested India’s support for early repatriation of the Rohingys to Rakhine State of Myanmar.  Indian prime minister Narndra Modi reiterated that India had always been with Bangladesh and assured Bangladesh of India’s cooperation in this regard, they added.

Fresh Rohingya infiltration an extra burden

Fresh infiltration of Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities of Myanmar into Bangladesh will be an additional burden on the country, experts say. They also say once these people cross over to Bangladesh, it is hard to repatriate them in the foreseeable future. All border points should be sealed and the international community has to understand that the internal problems of Myanmar have to be resolved in their own country, they note. Preferring anonymity, some of the former ambassadors say that when Myanmar residents face any persecution in their own land due to internal conflicts, the crisis has to be tackled there. If the inhabitants reach the borders after covering a long distance, it becomes very difficult to push them back, they add. Citizens of Myanmar, including different ethnic minorities, started fleeing Rakhine state due to recent clashes between the Myanmar army and the Rakhine army. Meanwhile, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, before making his maiden official visit to India, told journalists on Wednesday that Bangladesh had closed its border because of the recent spate in conflicts in Myanmars Rakhine state. A large number of Rohingyas have already been given shelter here. This has posed a huge problem for us. Other countries can now open their borders, he said. Bangladesh has been providing shelter to over 10 million Rohingyas who fled Myanmar due to atrocities by the Myanmar army in the Rakhine state in 2017. Even though the Bangladesh government has put pressure on Myanmar through different countries and international communities, including the United Nations, there is still no sign of repatriation of the Rohingyas. Although there was a glimmer of hope for the repatriation process before the general election (held on December 30 last year), the process was halted due to the doubts expressed by the international community. Under such circumstances, the fresh infiltration of the Buddhists of Myanmar through the Bandarban border has created an additional concern for Bangladesh. On Tuesday, the foreign ministry had summoned the ambassador of Myanmar, U Lwin Oo, and protested against the fresh infiltration of Myanmar citizens through the Bangladesh border. The envoy was told such infiltration due to the conflicts of Arakan army in Rakhine was a matter of serious concern. Meanwhile, in reply to a query of journalists at the Secretariat yesterday, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said additional members of the Border Guard of Bangladesh and Coast Guard had been deployed to prevent fresh infiltration of Myanmar nationals. Former ambassadors recently said Bangladesh pressurise the international community through different countries, especially China and India, to address the Rohingya crisis. Ambassador M Humayun Kabir recently said: The key player is China. We need to manage China to address the crisis. If we cant do it directly, we can encourage other friends like ASEAN partners, India, and Japan to influence China. Meanwhile, ministry sources said the foreign minister yesterday in Delhi requested Indias support for early repatriation of the Rohingys to Rakhine State of Myanmar. Indian prime minister Narndra Modi reiterated that India had always been with Bangladesh and assured Bangladesh of Indias cooperation in this regard, they added.