Rohingya crisis: Opt for multilateral negotiation

[Banglar Bir]

Rohingya crisis: Opt for multilateral negotiation
Interminable influx into Bangladesh of thousands of Rohingya Muslims—-whose number is approaching 600,000—-seems not to stop as Myanmar’s trigger-happy military in tandem with 87.9 per cent Therav?da Buddhist slaughterers are hell-bent on exterminating and hounding out the entire minority Muslims.

The UN, the EU, the OIC, Malaysia are ardently active to combine forces with Dhaka; but our Government and Foreign Ministry appear to be inconspicuous and diffident and are acting rather slowly, sporadically and in fits and starts.

Common sense dictates that our diplomatic machinery needs a shot in the arm and stimulus to mobilise world opinion for which PM Hasina should personally meet heads of governments of Russia, China, the US, UK, France i.e. all the UNSC permanent members so that they take steps with due seriousness and urgency.

Home Minister is leaving for Yangon on October 23, but it is hard to say if it would be useful.
If our Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali thinks the crisis can be solved bilaterally then it may perhaps be a pipe dream. We do not think he will cut any ice in dealing with a neighbour where the rulers are bloodthirsty hook, line, and sinker regarding Muslims.
We see no wisdom in pursuing bilateral approach to such a colossal behemoth of a crisis, so we wish to reiterate that involvement of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan, the EU and the OIC is a must.

Suu Kyi has opened the way for people like Wirathu to act with absolute impunity.
Ashin Wirathu, the monk who dubs himself the “Burmese bin Laden” and leads the viciously anti-Muslim 1969 Movement.
Wirathu had recently visited Rakhine State, giving hate-filled anti-Muslim speeches to crowds of thousands in which he calls for expelling the Muslims from the country. [Vide The Rohingya and Myanmar’s ‘Buddhist Bin Laden’ by Alex Preston, 12 February 2015 gq-magazine.co.uk/ article/myanmar-rohingya-muslim-burma]

Although the rulers of Myanmar misrepresent the history, to set the record straight, the Rohingyas have had a well established presence in Burma since the twelfth century.

The Rohingya were once counted as a part of the Mrauk-U (Mrohaung) kingdom in Arakan which stood independent of both the Burman kingdoms in the Irrawaddy delta and central Burma as well as Bengal and the Moguls to the west. Muslim traders came to the area in the eighth century when the local dynasty was seated at Wesali, not far from contemporary Mrauk-U and some of the traders settled along the shores. More Muslim sailors made their way to the Arakan region during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

In the 1400s, when Mrauk-U was invaded by forces of the Burman kingdom at Ava, King Narmeikhla sought help from Bengaland expelled the invaders with the help of a Muslim army. The link between Bengal and Mrauk-U from this point solidified, to the extent that the Mrauk-U king began to use Muslim court titles along with traditional ones.
Buddhist kings ruled Mrauk-U but Muslim officials often played a significant role in the court. Indeed, the inclusion of a variety of ethnic minority and religious officers in courts was a common practice throughout the mainland Southeast Asian sub-region. [Vide hrw.org/reports/2000/burma/burm005-01.htm]

Meanwhile, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs has viewed dozens of burned and destroyed villages in northern Rakhine during his recent tour by air, and called on Myanmar to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by security forces.

The final report of the Advisory Commission chaired by Kofi Annan dated 23 August puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission’s interim report released in March of this year. [Vide rakhinecommission.org/the-final-report/]

The Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva.

The final report—-the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016—- addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State.
Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionately.

Kofi Annan believes the recommendations, along with the interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.

Whether or not a coincidence, a twist of fate or an adverse turn of events, Rohingya crisis intensified as Indian PM Modi arrived in Burma for talks. [Vide Max Bearak’s report, 2017 September 5, washington post .com /…/wp/ rohingya-crisis -intensifies- as-indias-modi-arrives -in-burma-for-talks].

Again, in Susma Swaraj’s “very short meeting” with Sheikh Hasina in New York “the Rohingya crisis did not come up for discussion”. Why on earth the best friend and closest neighbour looks the other way while Dhaka is literally in dire straits?

What is more, India is pushing Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh. “Our directions are very clear, and that is to push all Rohingyas into Bangladesh”, said an Indian border guard in West Bengal [Vide dailymail.co.uk/ indiahome/ India news/ article -4981898/ Bangladesh-steps- security-India-border-Rohingya-fears.html, dated 15 October 2017].

Given that two of the five permanent members in the UN Security Council refused to adopt any motion to take decisive action against Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas, the world community is yet to reach a consensus.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s five-point plan deserves to be mulled over with due seriousness by the UN.
Besides, the Kofi Annan Commission’s recommendations made earlier have to be implemented in letter and spirit.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=4&date=0#Tid=14935

 

[Banglar Bir]

Why and how the US must confront Burma's Rohingya genocide
Tom Rogan | Oct 5, 2017, 1:20 PM
The United States should sanction Burma for its genocide against the Muslim Rohingya people, and lead an international effort to assist impoverished Bangladesh in supporting Rohingya refugees.
That's my conclusion based on the testimony coming out of southeast Bangladesh, where over 500,000 Rohingya civilians have taken refuge to avoid slaughter in Burma. My concern greatly increased after I spoke, Wednesday, with my aid worker aunt, Pat Kerr, who has taken a team to southeast Bangladesh.

Kerr described the situation at the Shah Porir Diip boat station, which sits between Burma and Bangladesh:

"Most of the refugees who arrive in Bangladesh take a boat to this station, and then barter (for example, giving jewelry for the fare) or borrow money to get to the mainland. It is tragic to see families with many young children and all their belongings in a few rice sacks. One young girl was so traumatized she couldn't speak or communicate in any way.

Some refugees don't even have a full set of clothes, many don't have sandals. There are more women and children than men, as the Burmese army is killing many of the men. The tales they all told were consistent: many men being killed and all villages burnt. The pattern seems to be that this started in the north of Burma's Rakhine state and is spreading across the whole state to the south. There were 20,000 new refugees yesterday and we saw many boatloads today so the violence has definitely not stopped."

Still, Kerr says, the Bangladeshi Army is doing exceptional work in providing for those in need. She references one officer, Major Tanim, who has established an efficient supply of aid and provision of security for the thousands of refugees in his area.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also playing a critical role, she says, describing one camp where, "Every day, 12,000 children are given a meal of meat and rice. This is one of four sites giving a hot meal of meat and rice in the middle of the day. A total of 84,000 meals are served to women and children. This is not including the sacks of dry food (rice and lentils) that are also distributed to thousands, or the medical clinic with free basic medicine."

Unfortunately, it's not enough. The current global strategy towards the Rohingya crisis is the equivalent of bandaging an arterial bleed. More must be done.

First, the U.S. should lead a global diplomatic effort to sanction Burma. At present, the only serious reprisal Burma's government has faced for its genocide is the announcement that Aung San Suu Kyi will be stripped of the freedom of Oxford.
That's a very unfunny joke.
Considering the scale of this crisis, the Trump administration should immediately call for wide spectrum economic sanctions on the Burmese government and its financial industries. The need for this leadership is even more urgent in the context of reporting by The Guardian, Thursday, that the United Nations has suppressed evidence of its failure to plan and respond to Rohingya refugee needs.

Here, it won't be enough to simply sanction a few random Burmese officials, the U.S. must bring the diplomatic heat. If tough sanctions push Burma into the hands of the Chinese government, so be it. America should seek good relations and strong economic ties with all nations that share our values or support a realist U.S. foreign policy.
But at present, Burma offers neither of those things.
Incidentally, it says much about the nature of Xi Jinping's foreign policy vision that he is willing to align himself with a genocidal regime.

Second, the U.S. should strengthen its aid to Bangladesh as that nation saves those civilians the Burmese Army has failed to kill.
To do so, Secretaries Mattis and Tillerson should send the head of Pacific Command, Admiral Harris, and the State Department's relevant Assistant Secretary, Alice Wells, to visit Dhaka and meet with top Bangladeshi officials.
This would consolidate Bangladesh in the knowledge that its humanitarian efforts have not gone unnoticed in Washington.
Bangladesh is often low-down in the U.S. foreign policy priority list, but that must now change.

More broadly, President Trump should prioritize the Rohingya in the same way that he has pushed Venezuela's situation up the international agenda. Utilizing his good will with the Sunni-Arab monarchies and recognizing Saudi Arabia's evolving interest in humanitarian issues, Trump should push those governments to increase their aid to the Rohingya (many of whom are Muslim).

Additional funds are specifically needed in order to provide the Rohingya with longer-term shelter in Bangladesh. Kerr notes that one need in the camps is a "nighttime service for pregnant women and those in labor, because at the moment, the NGOs only offer treatment during the day."

Ultimately, this isn't that complicated a foreign policy issue. America doesn't need to keep the Burmese government happy, but we must confront this human suffering.

Photos provided by Pat Kerr.

 

[Banglar Bir]

02:45 PM, October 22, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:18 PM, October 22, 2017
Rohingya crisis: EU co-hosts ‘pledging conference’ in Geneva tomorrow

The European Union will co-host a "Pledging Conference" on the Rohingya refugee crisis, with Kuwait, in Geneva tomorrow. In the Reuters photo taken yesterday, October 21, 2017, Rohingya refugees line up to get food from Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) near Balukhali refugees camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Star Online Report
The European Union will co-host a "Pledging Conference" on the Rohingya refugee crisis, with Kuwait, in Geneva tomorrow.
The conference will be held in partnership with the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The conference will be an important moment for the international community to respond to and address this major refugee crisis, according to EU Dhaka office.
READ more: Suu Kyi should resign, says Yunus
"As co-host of this high-level event, the EU is actively encouraging all donors to contribute to a successful conference. It is an important moment to demonstrate solidarity, common approaches and a strong humanitarian face of the international community to meet the needs of the many people that have fled their homes," said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides.

The European Union continues, as a matter of priority, to address the situation in Myanmar directly with the Myanmar authorities.

The EU has reiterated the need for an end to violence, including for the Myanmar authorities to cease military operations; on full humanitarian access to all humanitarian aid workers, including for the UN and international NGOs; and for the government to establish a credible and practical process for the voluntary return of all those who fled their homes to their places of origin.

Some 589,000 Rohingya people -- about 60 percent of them children -- have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25 to join nearly 400,000 of their fellow countrymen who fled violence in Myanmar in phases over the years.

Thousands more reportedly remain stranded and in peril in Myanmar without the means to cross the border into Bangladesh. Refugees arriving in Bangladesh are traumatised, and some have arrived with injuries caused by gunshots, shrapnel, fire and landmines.

The UN and other aid groups are struggling to mobilise fund for the emergency reliefs.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, October 24, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:58 AM, October 24, 2017
World leaders must engage in political process
Says IOM about repatriation

A Rohingya refugee woman carries her daughter searching for help. Photo: Reuters
Staff Correspondent
UN Migration Agency IOM has urged world leaders to engage in a political process that will allow the Rohingya refugees to return home voluntarily, while appealing for additional funds for emergency life-saving assistance.

"And, to do so in conditions of safety, security, dignity and social cohesion, we should insist with Myanmar officials that these conditions are met," IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said at the pledging conference for the Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Geneva yesterday.

"There are no durable humanitarian solutions to political crises and political problems," he said.

However, authorities are in "fierce competition for resources that are very scarce, including resources for those, who are stretched from Africa to South-Asia in armed conflict", he said.

Over 603,000 Rohingyas fled violence in Myanmar since August 25 following Myanmar's security forces operations against them in response to insurgent attacks.

The crisis created a global outcry, but the UN Security Council has failed to take any decisive action against Myanmar, where the Rohingyas are denied citizenship and have been persecuted for decades.

Sharing his experience of visiting Bangladesh last weekend, he said the sheer speed, size and scope of the Rohingya refugee crisis has resulted in a shocking humanitarian emergency that is unparalleled in this region and in many parts of the world.

"We now have approaching 900,000 people being cared for by the Bangladesh Government, people and local communities at great cost to the country, and being done in a very professional way," he said.

The situation therefore requires an unparalleled response from all of us, he told the conference.

Lacy Swing said despite laudable generosity from Bangladesh, host communities, UN agencies and others, aid groups are now faced with a challenge of enormous proportions.

"To be quite frank, everything is a priority. If you had to look at the top priorities, however, it would probably be above all else shelter – building shelter for 900,000 people, 600,000 of whom have arrived in the last two months," he said.

He also noted the need for protection, food security, basic health services and water and basic sanitation facilities.

"So, we need to give our attention specifically today to making sure that the Rohingya refugees are not somehow lost in this arc of suffering across this area of the world”, Swing said, stressing on the need to move quickly.

Recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine state are the way forward to peaceful co-existence in Rakhine state, he said.

"We need to insist that we start implementing these right away, step by step, starting with the first step, which is to allow humanitarians to resume their work in the northern part of Rakhine state."

Thousands of women, children still without basic services

Nearly two months since the beginning of the Rohingya influx, thousands of children and women are still without basic life-saving services, Unicef said.

“The Rohingya refugee crisis shows no sign of abating,” said Edouard Beigbeder, the UNICEF representative in Bangladesh.

“The needs of refugees and those of the communities hosting them are increasing at a much faster pace than our capacity to respond. We need more resources and we need them now.”

Around 1.2 million people -- including new arrivals, Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar in previous escalations of violence, and vulnerable Bangladeshi communities -- need humanitarian assistance in Cox's Bazaar. Some 720,000 of them are children.

An estimated 450,000 Rohingya children aged 4-18 years old need education services; 270,000 of them from among the new arrivals, says a Unicef press release.

Nearly 17,000 children with severe acute malnutrition need inpatient and outpatient treatment, and 120,000 pregnant and nursing women need nutritious supplementary food, it added.

There is an acute shortage of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in the refugee settlements, with an average of 100 people per latrine.

“Given the current population density and poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, any outbreak of cholera or acute diarrhoea, which are both endemic to Bangladesh, could kill thousands of people residing in temporary settlements,” Beigbeder said.

Measles has been reported among the settled population as well as the new arrivals. Unicef is working towards accelerating the routine immunisation schedule, which will include the host community.

There are also reports of parents and caregivers who say they are unable to care for their children because of their vulnerable emotional and psychological state, it said.

Many adolescents have taken on additional roles as caregivers and providers, helping with distribution, collection of firewood and caring for their elderly relatives or siblings. At least 900 children are living in child-headed households.

The needs are massive and growing, but funding remains extremely limited, it said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/world-must-engage-political-process-1480828

 

[Banglar Bir]

U.S. Threatens to Punish Myanmar Over Treatment of Rohingya
PETER BAKER and NICK CUMMING-BRUCE
OCT. 23, 2017
Myanmar unless it pulls back from its violent military campaign against Rohingya Muslims, expressing what it called “our gravest concern” over a crisis that has killed or displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The State Department said it has already cut off travel waivers allowing current and former senior military leaders into the country and was considering further actions to impose economic measures against those responsible for atrocities against Myanmar’s ethnic minority. The department said that all military units involved in operations against the Rohingya were ineligible for American aid.

“The government of Burma, including its armed forces, must take immediate action to ensure peace and security; implement commitments to ensure humanitarian access to communities in desperate need; facilitate the safe and voluntary return of those who have fled or been displaced in Rakhine State; and address the root causes of systematic discrimination against the Rohingya,” the department said in a statement issued Monday night, using the former name for Myanmar.

The American warning came as the United Nations said the Rohingya Muslims who have fled deadly persecution in Myanmar to Bangladesh would soon exceed one million.
Photo

Children carrying jugs of water across a Naf River stream to the refugee camp outside Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, last month.
Credit Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
That prediction loomed over an emergency donors conference in Geneva to raise money for aid groups struggling to help Bangladesh, one of the world’s poorest countries, deal with the crisis.
In Grim Camps, Rohingya Suffer on ‘Scale That We Couldn’t Imagine’ SEPT. 29, 2017
Desperate Rohingya Flee Myanmar on Trail of Suffering: ‘It Is All Gone’ SEPT. 2, 2017
Rohingya Recount Atrocities: ‘They Threw My Baby Into a Fire’OCT. 11, 2017
Rohingya Refugees Fleeing Myanmar Await Entrance to Squalid Camps OCT. 18, 2017
Opinion Op-Ed Contributor
How the Rohingya Crisis Is Changing Bangladesh OCT. 6, 2017
Doctors Without Borders, the medical charity, called the health conditions of the refugee encampments a “time bomb.”

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have battled terror, exhaustion and hunger to reach safety in Bangladesh since Myanmar’s army began a campaign of what the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing in late August. The new arrivals joined more than 300,000 Rohingya who had escaped in recent years.

The number of people crossing the Naf River that divides the two countries has slowed to about 1,000 to 3,000 a day, down from a peak of 12,000 to 18,000 a day earlier in the crisis, said William Lacy Swing, the director of the International Organization for Migration, a part of the United Nations.

Still, he said, “even at that rate the numbers are expected to exceed a million shortly.”

More than 300,000 children are among the Rohingya refugees. Mark Lowcock, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, told reporters that many were acutely malnourished.
Helping the Rohingya

A partial list of aid groups working to ease the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
States had previously committed around $116 million toward the $430 million sought by the United Nations for humanitarian aid over the next six months. Pledges received from governments on Monday raised the total to about $340 million, Mr. Lowcock said, expressing confidence that additional contributions would flow in coming days.

Even so, humanitarian agencies face enormous challenges delivering relief. Hundreds of thousands of refugees were crammed on a strip of land that lacked roads or infrastructure to support the delivery of aid.

With 210 hospital beds available to support more than 900,000 people living with little access to clean water, sanitation or medical care, the refugees’ situation is a “time bomb ticking toward a full-blown health crisis,” Joanne Liu, the international president of Doctors Without Borders told the meeting.

The United Nations food aid agency said that it had distributed food to 580,000 people since the crisis erupted, but that it had so far received less than one-third of the $77 million it needs to aid a million people over six months.

Queen Rania of Jordan, who visited some of the camps on Monday, expressed shock at the conditions. “It is unforgivable that this crisis is unfolding, largely ignored by the international community,” she said in a statement.

Peter Baker reported from Washington and Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva. Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/23/...contentCollection=Asia Pacific&pgtype=article

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, October 25, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:26 AM, October 25, 2017
Case for a UN Interim Administration in Rakhine

Photo: Reuters/ Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Farhaan Uddin Ahmed
The Myanmar military's latest campaign against the Rohingyas began after the attack on multiple police posts in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. The country's military leadership, with the support of radical Buddhist elements, is perpetrating an “ethnic cleansing” campaign killing, raping, maiming, and setting ablaze one Rohingya village after another.
Nearly 600,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed into Bangladesh within a span of two months. The world has not witnessed such a large exodus of people in such a short period since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
As a result of this brutal campaign, the majority of Rohingyas are now residing in Bangladesh.

The situation has been further aggravated by the fact that host Bangladesh is itself a poor country, with a high population density, and that the country's southeast region is not the most geographically accessible area, with hilly terrains and lack of proper infrastructure.
All these factors have culminated in a crisis that has potentially high political, economic, and social costs for Bangladesh.
Despite that, it has continued to keep its borders open for the Rohingyas and has been doing as much as possible to meet their basic needs.

Of late, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar have been negotiating the repatriation of the Rohingyas, although it is not clear yet whether the negotiations will bear any fruit. However, mere repatriation, without addressing the causes that led to the persecution in the first place, will not guarantee the rights and safety of the returnees. After repatriation, it is quite likely that the Rohingyas will continue to suffer because of the deep-seated hatred and hostility that has been sown into the Burmese society by the radical Buddhist elements.

Additionally, most of their homes have been decimated; hence, for the Rohingyas, repatriation at this stage would mean being transferred from one camp (in Bangladesh) to another (in Myanmar). Therefore, the best possible way to ensure a lasting peace and reconciliation would be to establish a UN Interim Administration in the Rakhine.

A UN Interim Administration supported by a UN Peacekeeping Force could be established with a specific mandate to:
a) maintain peace and security,
b) support humanitarian efforts, and
c) oversee the implementation of the recommendations made by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State in its Final Report (Kofi Annan Report).

Implementation of the Kofi Annan Report is vital to ensure that there is a possibility of lasting peace in Rakhine. The Report's recommendations deal with issues of citizenship, freedom of movement, humanitarian access, access to media, health, education, security, and justice for the Rohingyas.
In time, a permanent UN Observer Mission could be established to monitor the maintenance of peace and security in the long run.

Such a mechanism is not without precedent in history.

UN peacekeeping missions and interim administrations are established through UN Security Council Resolutions by the exercise of powers enunciated in Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
There are numerous instances of the establishment of UN Interim Administrations to maintain security and oversee the transition to peace.
UN Interim Administrations in East Timor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo are some well-known examples.
Such interventions are generally supported by a Peacekeeping Force and the Interim Administration is headed by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), who is endowed with legislative and executive authority, including the administration of justice so as to be able to implement the mandate.

Of course, Myanmar could unilaterally set up “safe zones” which could be monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations or some other international bodies. But such a move by the Myanmar government seems quite improbable, meaning the onus now is on the UN to exercise its Chapter VII powers.

That said, there are concerns that Russia and/or China may veto such a motion in the Security Council. This is where international politics and diplomacy come into play.

Bangladesh and the supporters of such measures must allay the geopolitical concerns of Russia and China.
Russia would most likely not veto such a measure as long as China does not, since Russian geopolitical interests in the region are quite different from that of China. However, China is quite unlikely to support the measure since it fears losing its foothold in Myanmar to its geopolitical rival India.

India has been supporting the Myanmar government from the beginning and has steered away from condemning the military's actions in Rakhine, hoping that it would be able to counter China's influence in Myanmar.

But India is also facing increasing pressure from its northeastern states over the influx of refugees; its civil society and the general public have been also quite critical of its position.

Now, if both India and China publicly take the same stance on the issue of UN intervention, then neither would risk losing much ground in regional geopolitics to the other.

In the Security Council, it is not necessary for China and/or Russia to actively support the measure.
A Security Council resolution to intervene would be passed even if they abstain or do not participate in the voting, which has been the case on numerous occasions in the past.

This would, in turn, maintain the current geopolitical balance while providing the Rohingyas a much-needed respite from the persecution.
The world stood by and allowed such atrocities to take place in the past—in Bosnia and Rwanda. It cannot allow the same thing to happen again.
Farhaan Uddin Ahmed is a researcher of international law and legal theory, and lecturer at the School of Law, BRAC University.
Email: farhaan17@gmail.com
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/perspective/case-un-interim-administration-rakhine-1481185

 

[Banglar Bir]

Where do we go from here?
Sohel Rana
Published at 06:55 PM October 30, 2017

Are our humanitarian efforts sustainable?
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
We need to take all sides of the Rohingya crisis into account
Two-month-old infant, Shaokat Ara, has been living in Balukhali makeshift Rohingya camp-1 in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, since her birth.

To her, the planet is a green one — courtesy of Ukhiya’s picturesque natural beauty — full of hope.

But she was born without much hope when her mother, Rehana, narrowly escaped a locally named “launcha” — a weapon similar to a missile, fired by the Myanmar military to set her home ablaze.

Rehana had absolutely no other option but to run and flee.

She crossed a narrow strait of Naf in Myanmar to Ulubunia, Palingkhali, Ukhia — leaving behind her torturous past at Balibazar, a village in Maungdaw district in Myanmar, where her family had been living for hundreds of years.

The short walk toward Ulubunia at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border came to a halt as Rehana felt a surging pain burning her womb. It was time for the delivery of her child — she had been carrying for 10 months.

Showkat Ara was born on her mother’s walk to freedom from persecution and pain.

Rehana had company — thousands swarming the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, left with no choice but to run for their lives. Often with a solar panel or an elderly member of the family hanging on the shoulder and a battery bag in hand.
Two sides of the same coin
Across the Naf river, the picture was a little different from what they had fled from. Bangladesh set an extraordinary example of humanity and compassion. The Rohingya were forced to lead a nomadic life, displaced from their agrarian lifestyle.

Lately, Myanmar’s militarised government conjured a ridiculous theory: The Rohingya are, in fact, migrated Bangladeshi Muslim agrarian people, who travelled to their land some generations ago and thus never conformed to their citizenship principles.

Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning Indian economist, slapped this line of defense with a fiery retort: “The Rohingya didn’t come to Myanmar; Myanmar came to the Rohingya.”

Bangladesh was born with a fundamental pledge to justice, equity, and compassion. In the face of one of the biggest humanitarian crises, our government, along with the Bangladeshi locals in Cox’s Bazar, embraced the traumatised Rohingya with smiling faces and are still doing what they can to help.
The heavy lifting
Immediately after the fresh influx beginning on August 29, the Cox’s Bazar district administration, in collaboration with RRRC (Refugee, Relief, and Repatriation Commission, Bangladesh), set up temporary makeshift camps and developed a system not only to distribute relief coming from all over the world, but also to create a functional work environment for the UN bodies and hundreds of NGOs.

Other agencies like the police and the army, led by the district administration, accomplished an insurmountable task to facilitate the safe and secured distribution of a huge amount of diverse relief.

Our efforts to force the Myanmar government to do the right thing are way less than our efforts to accommodate the Rohingya in Bangladesh

Hundreds of national and international NGOs are doing commendable jobs to ensure minimum sanitation and health standards in the makeshift camps. Everyone, except Myanmar, is trying to build a fate for these battered souls, a home for these homeless, and give hope to people.
Reality checks
But we need to reconsider a few things given the harsh realities and new developments in the Rohingya camps.

A few days back, at Balukhali makeshift camp-1, three Bangladeshi citizens from Chittagong, who were trying to distribute cash as relief, on which the government has imposed a ban, were brutally beaten by some Rohingya. They were recovered half dead and the offenders claimed that they were trying to steal their kids.

But later on, the allegations were found not to be true.

The money from the Bangladeshis was snatched away by the Rohingya and to cover it up, they simply manufactured a false allegation. Recently, a policeman was hit in the head by a Rohingya couple at Teknaf.

These developments, though rare, indicate a law and order concern for us.

Some believe, years of exposure to extortion, exploitation, and violence may have rendered the Rohingya cunning and violent. While it’s best to avoid this type of racial profiling, unfortunately, the potential for a “Rohingarchy” in the lives of the locals is not too unlikely.
Is our humanity sustainable?
Besides, the concern is not only about law and order. Bangladesh has been advancing gloriously for the past few years, and this half a million (and counting) can seriously affect the thriving growth of our nation.

The number itself is a threatening statistic. Prevention of locals mixing with the Rohingya would be a near impossible job for the security forces and it may result in fatal consequences for the locals.

Though WFP and UNHCR will take the responsibilities of this added population, there is no guarantee that they will not cut loose from the camps. It may be the locals’ fates that will be at risk.

Will they go back?
Will they be given their legitimate right of citizenry?
What exactly is a solution to this crisis?
These questions won’t see answers any time soon.

At the moment, international authorities are busy meeting immediacies based upon the sheer generosity shown by our PM.

Interestingly, our efforts to force the Myanmar government to do the right thing are disproportionate compared to our efforts to accommodate the Rohingya in Bangladesh.

Yes, we want a compassionate solution to this crisis and a future for the Rohingya, but not at the cost of risking our own fate.
Sohel Rana is an Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate working in DC office, Feni, Bangladesh and a member of Bangladesh Civil Service. He is now attached to Cox’s Bazar DC office to work for the Rohingya crisis. Currently, he is in charge of the Balukhali-1 makeshift relief distribution Rohingya camp Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/op-ed/2017/10/30/where-do-we-go-from-here-3/

 

[Banglar Bir]

2:00 AM, November 13, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:17 PM, November 13, 2017
Learning the ropes
From Bangladesh standing its moral ground as it takes in another influx of Rohingya refugees to Australia's settlement services, there's a lot that we can learn from one another to better manage refugee crises

A Rohingya refugee holds his son on his shoulder as they walk through a rice field after crossing the Naf river from Myanmar into Bangladesh on October 9, 2017. PHOTO: AFP
Nahela Nowshin
The Bangladesh government has been globally lauded—and rightfully so—for welcoming with open arms, once again, the persecuted Rohingya people with whom the country has a checkered history.
The Rohingyas came to Bangladesh in droves in 1978, 1992, and the 2010s.
But at this juncture, many are wondering just how the latest influx of Rohingyas—the highest yet, numbering over 600,000—is going to pan out in the longer term.

With Bangladesh—as overpopulated and resource-strained as it is—now hosting almost a million Rohingya refugees, the absence of a coherent plan in dealing with a crisis not of its own doing is turning out to be detrimental.
Conditions at the camps are deteriorating and the dangers of child and sex trafficking are becoming more and more real as we speak.

The dilemma we are facing perhaps is a result of any government having to tow the difficult line between humanitarianism and realpolitik: At what point does ceaselessly taking on the burden of more and more refugees turn into an opportunistic tool for the sending country (in this case Myanmar) to achieve its internal objectives?
Is Myanmar not taking advantage of Bangladesh's compassion to rid the Rakhine State entirely of the Rohingya?

With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the repatriation talks, it looks like the Rohingya crisis at our doorstep is only going to balloon with time. It also makes one wonder why Bangladesh—which is no stranger to hosting refugees—has not been able to do a better job of refugee management, particularly with regard to the Rohingya. If criticising the handling of the latest influx of Rohingyas seems unfair or premature, then what of the thousands who have come here previously and continue to live in squalid camps, with their movement restricted and with little to no chance of ever getting a proper education?

A major reason behind Bangladesh's inability to better manage the crisis is the utter failure of the international community—the usual suspect—to pressurise the Myanmar government into bringing an end to the repression of the minority in the first place, so that Rohingya refugees stranded in Bangladesh would feel confident enough to go back. I say the international community because refugee management isn't a one-man show. However, that does not completely absolve the host country of its responsibilities to do its best to protect the rights of these people who have left behind everything they have ever known in fear of persecution. Sadly though, that's not how it always works out.

Refugee crises are ridden with dilemmas. A dilemma for the oppressed to leave or stay. A dilemma for governments to condemn or remain silent. A dilemma for countries to refuse or let refugees in. And once they've done their part to take in a certain “quota”, there's yet again a dilemma about doing “too much” for fear that this would act as a pull factor. This has been the case with the Rohingya refugees who have come to Bangladesh in previous exoduses and have had to face restrictions such as limited access to education and no permission to work despite being here for decades.

"Refugee crises are ridden with dilemmas. A dilemma for the oppressed to leave or stay. A dilemma for governments to condemn or remain silent. A dilemma for countries to refuse or let refugees in. And once they've done their part to take in a certain “quota”, there's yet again a dilemma about doing “too much” for fear that this would act as a pull factor.

Bangladesh isn't alone when it comes to being precautious about becoming a haven for refugees. A similar line of reasoning seems to have also been taken by developed countries like Australia which are far better equipped to handle refugee crises of the scale that we are facing. Australia’s controversial offshore processing centres—long regarded as its Achilles' heel in its history of immigration policy—were established in order to “stop boat arrivals” of asylum seekers to prevent deaths at sea and “break the people smugglers' business model” (as per the official narrative).

But there lies an underlying objective of minimising the “pull factor”—much like the rationale behind imposing restrictions upon Rohingyas who have been living in camps in Bangladesh for years. In fact, multiple Australian immigration ministers have put forward the not-so-subtle argument that taking in refugees from offshore detention facilities is akin to “putting sugar on the table”.
The issue of asylum seekers and refugees has a long, ugly history of politicisation in the country and has become an intense area of criticism globally.

This handout picture taken and received on October 31, 2017 by Nick McKim, Australian Greens Senator for Tasmania, shows refugees gesturing inside the Manus detention camp in Papua New Guinea on the day of the camp's expected closure. Hundreds of "scared" refugees are refusing to leave an Australian detention camp in Papua New Guinea that formally "closed" on October 31, with fears they could be forcibly removed by authorities. Photo: Handout/Nick McKim/AFP

In humanitarian crises, governments inevitably find themselves between a rock and a hard place: Striking a balance between the moral responsibility of granting refuge to the persecuted and treading with enough caution so as to avoid negative consequences. In light of the critical situation at the Manus Island immigration detention centre—where refugees and asylum seekers have been defying the closure bids by Australia and Papua New Guinea and, as of writing this article, had until Sunday to stay in the camp—it is clear that the Australian government isn't ready to soften its stance on asylum seekers arriving by boat. That is extremely unfortunate because there is yet no sign of an end to the inhumane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers holed up in the offshore detention facilities.

Despite commonalities of ethical dilemmas, no two countries have the same experience in dealing with a refugee crisis—and there’s a lot that one can learn from another. For instance, the symbolic significance of the Bangladesh government's opening the borders to hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas is immense:

It should be a lesson in compassion for developed countries like the US and Australia that can do much more than they are doing to resettle the most vulnerable refugees. Differences in context aside, the number of refugees being resettled by both Australia and the US pales in comparison to the number of Rohingya refugees we have sheltered in the past few months alone.
That being said, there is also a lot to be learnt for Bangladesh from countries like Australia and Canada when it comes to emulating key features of settlement service programmes.

In Australia, for example, where the resettlement intake for 2017–18 has been increased to 16,250 spots (not nearly enough), an extremely well-structured, comprehensive refugee resettlement programme has been put into place for humanitarian entrants. From ensuring that its governance involves all tiers of the government (federal, state, local) to the provision of medical benefits, interpretation and translation services, and skills and education programmes, Australia's refugee resettlement programme can serve as a model/blueprint for countries like Bangladesh where a strong mechanism of refugee management is lacking.

This does not mean Bangladesh should also come up with a “resettlement programme” for the Rohingyas; rather what it can do is take inspiration from existing models of refugee programmes, such as the one in Australia, to come up with its own mechanism to better handle the crisis. Because right now, Bangladesh seems to have nothing close to a plan of action to deal with the massive numbers of Rohingya refugees.

Managing such humanitarian crises comes with extreme complexities to which there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. It requires the Herculean task of skillfully balancing the art of diplomacy, assuaging public opinion, and re-allocating limited resources.

But if there's one overarching lesson to be learnt, it is to ensure that the traumatising state of in-between, that is often a result of governments wanting a quick fix, does not prolong the cycle of suffering and exploitation of hapless victims of persecution—whether it be asylum seekers and refugees stranded in Nauru or PNG or undocumented Rohingyas in Bangladesh stuck in limbo.
Nahela Nowshin is a member of the editorial team at The Daily Star.
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/human-rights/learning-the-ropes-1490179

 

[Banglar Bir]

11:34 AM, November 14, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 11:55 AM, November 14, 2017
Rohingya repatriation after signing MoU with Bangladesh, Suu Kyi assures Asean leaders

Widely criticised for her stance over Rohingya refugee crisis, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi now on Monday, November 13, 2017, tells her fellow Southeast Asian leaders that her country will take back Rohingya refugees after it signs an agreement with its neighbour Bangladesh. Reuters file photo
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila
Widely criticised for her stance over Rohingya refugee crisis, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi now said her fellow Southeast Asian leaders that her country will take back Rohingya refugees after it signs an agreement with its neighbour Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi gave the assurance after two of the unnamed Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders raised the issue during a plenary session of the Asean summit in Manila yesterday.

Also READ: US to step up pressure on Myanmar army
Myanmar was already taking steps to address the plight of the Rohingya people, she said.

“The process of repatriation of IDPs (internally displaced persons) will conclude within three weeks after a signing of a memorandum of agreement for understanding with Bangladesh,” Philippines Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Roque said quoting the de facto leader of Myanmar.

He said Suu Kyi also told her fellow Asean leaders that Rohingyas who had fled to Bangladesh could return to Mynamar after the two countries sign a memorandum of understanding.

READ more: Myanmar military denies atrocities against Rohingyas
“I can confirm that the Rohingya issue was discussed. It was specifically brought up by two member states,” Roque said in a press briefing.

He did not identify the two Asean leaders who raised the issue of the Rohingyas during the plenary session at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

“Myanmar specifically addressed the Rohingya issue. Myanmar specifically said… they are in the process of attending the Kofi Annan report (and that) they welcome humanitarian assistance,” Roque said.

A commission headed by former United Nations chief Kofi Anan in August released a report that called on Myanmar to scrap the restrictions on the movement of citizenship of persecuted Muslim Rohingya.

The report was release before the violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine state which led over 600,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh.

“Myanmar agreed that they welcome humanitarian assistance but there was no specific mention about which country will provide,” Roque said.
Copyright: Philippine Daily Inquirer/ Asia News Network
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:49 PM, November 14, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:09 PM, November 14, 2017
Myanmar military probe a whitewash: Amnesty

Human rights group Amnesty International on Monday, November 13, 2017, pours scorn on a Myanmar military investigation into alleged atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, branding it a “whitewash” and calling for UN and independent investigators to be allowed into the country. Reuters file photo
Reuters, Yangon
“Once again, Myanmar’s military is trying to sweep serious violations against the Rohingya under the carpet,” says James Gomez, Amnesty International’s regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Human rights group Amnesty International poured scorn on a Myanmar military investigation into alleged atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, branding it a “whitewash” and calling for UN and independent investigators to be allowed into the country.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August, driven out by a counter-insurgency clearance operation in Rakhine State that a top UN official has called a classic case of “ethnic cleansing”.

READ more: Myanmar military denies atrocities against Rohingyas
Accusations of organised mass rape and other crimes against humanity were levelled at the Myanmar military on Sunday by another senior UN official, who had toured camps in Bangladesh where Rohingya refugees have taken shelter.

Myanmar’s military has consistently protested its innocence, and on Monday it posted the findings of an internal investigation on the Facebook page of its commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

Also READ: Rohingya repatriation after signing MoU with Bangladesh, Suu Kyi assures Asean leaders
It said it had found no instances where its soldiers had shot and killed Rohingya villagers, raped women or tortured prisoners. It denied that security forces had torched Rohingya villages or used “excessive force”.

The military’s self-exoneration came as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson prepared to visit Myanmar on Wednesday for talks with leaders.

Both Tillerson and Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of a less than two-year-old civilian administration that has no control over the military, are attending a regional summit in Manila.

With US senators back in Washington pressing to impose economic sanctions and travel restrictions targeting the military and its business interests, Tillerson is expected to deliver a stern message to Myanmar's generals, while supporting the transition to democracy.

Suu Kyi discussed the Rohingya crisis with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Southeast Asian leaders’ summit in Manila.

“The secretary-general highlighted that strengthened efforts to ensure humanitarian access, safe, dignified, voluntary and sustained returns, as well as true reconciliation between communities, would be essential,” a UN representative said in brief note on the meeting.
General replaced
Coincidently on Friday, the commanding officer in Rakhine State, Major General Maung Maung Soe was replaced. No reason for his transfer was given, but a senior officer with the military's media department told Reuters, Maung Maung Soe had no new assignment, and had been placed on a reserve list.

A spokeswoman for the US State Department, Katina Adams, said the United States was aware of reports of the general's replacement.

“We remain gravely concerned by continuing reports of violence and human rights abuses committed by Burmese security forces and vigilantes. Those responsible for abuses must be held accountable,” Adams said.

Amnesty International dismissed the military's internal investigation and called for a UN fact finding mission and other independent investigators to be given full access to Rakhine.

“Once again, Myanmar’s military is trying to sweep serious violations against the Rohingya under the carpet,” James Gomez, Amnesty International’s regional director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement released late Monday.

Amnesty said: "there is overwhelming evidence that the military has murdered and raped Rohingya and burned their villages to the ground.

“After recording countless stories of horror and using satellite analysis to track the growing devastation we can only reach one conclusion: these attacks amount to crimes against humanity.”
May calls for accountability
Speaking in Dhaka, Pramila Patten, the UN special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, said she would raise accusations against the Myanmar military with the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

“Sexual violence is being commanded, orchestrated and perpetrated by the armed forces of Myanmar, otherwise known as the Tatmadaw,” Patten said following a three-day tour of the Rohingya refugee camps in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh.

British Prime Minister Theresa May also said in foreign policy address on Monday that Myanmar's military should be called to account.

“This is a major humanitarian crisis which looks like ethnic cleansing,” she said in a speech delivered at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in the City of London.

“And it is something for which the Burmese authorities - and especially the military - must take full responsibility.”

The government in mostly Buddhist Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, regards the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Suu Kyi's failure to speak out strongly over the Rohingya’s plight has widely damaged the Nobel peace prize winner's reputation as a stateswoman.

Many diplomats, however, believe Myanmar’s fragile transition to democracy would be jeopardised if she publicly criticised the armed forces.

A military junta ruled Myanmar for 49 years and the generals have retained their authority over defence, security and border issues under a constitution drafted while they held power
Related Topics
Myanmar Rohingya refugee crisis
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...sh-amnesty-rakhine-atrocities-muslims-1491079

 

[Banglar Bir]

‘Foreign ministers to raise Rohingya issue in ASEM meeting’
Abdul Aziz, Cox's Bazar Tarek Mahmud
Published at 03:27 PM November 19, 2017
Last updated at 04:25 PM November 19, 2017

Part of a foreign delegation visiting Kutupalong campAbdul Aziz/Dhaka Tribune
They arrived at the Kutupalong camp site around 11 am on Sunday, and are scheduled to visit several other Rohingya refugee camps in the region

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam has said the foreign ministers visiting the Kutupalong camp have agreed to discuss the Rohingya crisis in the 13th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

He made the statement while talking to reporters at the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar district on Sunday.

The Foreign Ministers’ meeting will be held on November 20 and 21 in Myanmar.

Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono visited the Rohingya camp.

The foreign delegates were accompanied by Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Shahriar Alam, along with representatives from several international humanitarian agencies.

They arrived at the Kutupalong camp around 11am, and are scheduled to visit several other refugee camps in the region.

The European bloc nations are already quite vocal about the plight of Rohingya refugees.

Bangladesh is optimistic that the international community will continue to give political support to Bangladesh and further increase pressure on Myanmar for resolving the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Since August 25, more than 620,000 Rohingya, mainly women and children, have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...ief-3-foreign-ministers-visit-rohingya-camps/

 

[Banglar Bir]

10:46 AM, November 20, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:25 PM, November 20, 2017
Suu Kyi silent on Rohingya crisis at ASEM
Seeks Asia-Europe stronger ties

Myanmar's State Councellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi (L) walks down an escalator before the 13th Asia-Europe (ASEM) foreign ministers' meeting in Naypyidaw on November 20, 2017. Photo: AUNG HTET / AFP
UNB, Nay Pyi Taw
Though silent about the protracted Rohingya crisis, State Counsellor and Union Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi today called for a new and stronger partnership among countries in Asia and Europe for the maintenance and promotion of peace and sustainable development through collective efforts.
"We must continue to nurture partnership to create new connections -- not just between governments but also across the private sectors and civil societies and of course people to people," she said.
Read More: Resolving Rohingya Crisis: Europe stands by Bangladesh
Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader who is widely criticised over Rohingya issue, made the remark while delivering her speech at the inaugural session of the two-day 13th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting at Myanmar International Convention Centre here without touching the Rohingya crisis.
Also Read: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi denounces 'terrorists', silent on Rohingya exodus
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali is leading Bangladesh delegation.
European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini, among others, addressed the opening session.

Two youth representatives presented their visions on the ASEM process.

Suu Kyi said there is a vital need for new and stronger partnership to address far-reaching challenges such as regional and international conflicts, on domestic security, and threat of terrorism and violent extremism in their various forms and manifestation.

She said the discussions during the two days will provide opportunities for all of them to reflect on progress made and explore future areas for the enhancement of political, economic, social, cultural in line with the three pillars of ASEM Cooperation.

The State Counsellor said the role of youths is essential to all areas of cooperation in the ASEM mechanism.

The EU High Representative reiterated their commitment to global peace and security and support for strengthening partnership between Asia and Europe.

The European Union's top diplomat, earlier, said she is encouraging Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's willingness to implement the recommendations of an expert panel on ensuring stability in troubled Rakhine state.

Federica Mogherini said work still was needed on implementing the recommendations, reports AP.

The Rakhine Commission, established last year at Suu Kyi's behest, issued its report the day before deadly insurgent attacks on multiple police posts in Rakhine state on Aug. 25. The subsequent military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims sparked a major refugee exodus and widespread condemnation.

Mogherini is among the foreign ministers from Europe and Asia meeting Monday in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar.

She said the European Union believed stopping the violence was necessary, as well as a guarantee of full humanitarian access and safe repatriation of the refugee.

Foreign Ministers from Asian and European countries on Monday began two-day talks to strengthen partnership for peace, find joint efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with focus on Rohingya issue.

Though the Rohingya issue is not mentioned specifically in the draft agenda of the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Foreign Ministers, this biggest humanitarian crisis of the world will come up in a big way to put further pressure on Myanmar for a solution to it.

A diplomat told UNB that regional, international issues, promotion of peace, traditional and non-traditional security challenges will be discussed in the meeting. "So, the Rohingya issue will definitely be there at some point."

Ahead of ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Myanmar, Bangladesh tried to make the best use of high-level visits from a number of countries, including China and Japan in the last two days -- Saturday and Sunday -- to mount pressure on Myanmar and expedite talks for sending Rohingyas back to their homeland.

After visiting Rohingya camps, the Foreign Ministers on Sunday said they will raise the issue at the ASEM FMs meeting.

Bangladesh is expecting louder voice from the international community at the meeting.

Connectivity across the diverse domains, transport, tourism, climate change, energy security, poverty reduction, people to people contact and cultural cooperation, education, trade and investment cooperation will also be discussed.

A diplomat who is in touch with the upcoming ASEM Foreign Ministers' meeting told UNB that the joint visit to Bangladesh, including Rohingya camps, before their participation in the ASEM FMs' meeting does put Myanmar on the spotlight for its failure to address the Rohingya issue.

"I can assume that the European leaders are very serious about this issue and they would definitely bring additional pressure on Myanmar authorities for Resolution of the issue," he said wishing to remain unnamed.

The diplomat said they might go for a separate Political Declaration, during the Summit or ask regional players to play a more constructive role in resolving this protracted issue.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...i-meeting-begins-shed-light-rohingyas-1493881

 

[Banglar Bir]

06:50 PM, November 24, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 07:29 PM, November 24, 2017
UNHCR against immediate Rohingya repatriation

Rohingya refugee Almor Yhan cries while she rests with relatives hours after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border at Shah Porir Dwip near Cox's Bazar. Photo: Reuters
Star Online Report
Conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are not in place to enable safe and sustainable returns of Rohingya refugees, UNHCR said today.
“At present, conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are not in place to enable safe and sustainable returns,” said UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards at a press briefing in Geneva.

A press release issued in this regard said, UNHCR has not yet seen the details of the agreement.

“Refugees have the right to return. And a framework that enables them to exercise this right in line with international standards, will be welcome,” the press release added.

Some 622,000 people have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine State since 25 August, triggered by a wave of violence underpinned by denial of citizenship and decades of deep discrimination.

It is critical that returns do not take place precipitously or prematurely, without the informed consent of refugees or the basic elements of lasting solutions in place, said the UNCHR spokesperson.

“People must have the option of returning home, and not be confined to specific areas. Progress towards addressing the root causes of flight, including their lack of citizenship, as recommended by the Rakhine Advisory Commission, will also be crucial,” added the official.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...rohingya-repatriation-from-bangladesh-1495975