THE government on Wednesday refuted the Myanmar authorities’ claim — that Bangladesh was mischaracterising the Rohingya crisis — sticking to the line of argument of the UN and the International Community since the start of the influx of the refugees. The Myanmar government did not demonstrate any political-will to implement the provisions of bilateral instruments and to address the underlying political, economic, security, and social problems those are root causes of the Rohingya crisis. Bangladesh government officials said they outright rejected the baseless accusation, falsification, and misrepresentation of facts mentioned by Myanmar. Bangladesh Foreign Ministry officials suspect that Myanmar Minister resorted to misrepresentation of the whole issue as well as laying unjustified blames on Bangladesh in an ulterior motive. Myanmar’s claim that many Rohingyas were not included in the registered list of household and the excessive focus on technicalities is clear manifestations of their utter reluctance to resolve the crisis through dialogue and negotiation.
After the recent influx of August 2017, Myanmar signed bilateral instruments with Bangladesh identifying them as Myanmar residents. The statement said that attempts to create controversy over their identity at this stage clearly indicate that Myanmar still pursues the policy of exclusion and marginalisation of its ethnic minorities. Bangladesh stressed that Myanmar must act decisively to address the real causes that are preventing the displaced Rohingyas from going back voluntarily, ensure participation of the International Community for creating an environment conducive for returning as well as in the monitoring of repatriation and reintegration process.
More than 12,00,000 Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, entered Bangladesh after in the last few years fleeing brutal murder, arson and rape during ‘security operations’ by Myanmar military in Rakhine, what the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing and genocide. The global leaders must understand the danger of Rohingya crisis and solve the problem as early as possible. Dhaka must spearhead global consensus in this regard.
