Bangladesh faces Long haul Rohingya Crisis

[Banglar Bir]

Bangladesh faces long haul Rohingya crisis
AFP . Cox’s Bazar | Update: 08:48, Sep 25, 2017

One month after Rohingya Muslims started pouring across the border to escape a crackdown in Myanmar, Bangladesh faces a long-term struggle caring for more than 700,000 refugees packed into camps and forcing its neighbour to take them back.

Prime minister Sheikh Sheikh Hasina has earned praise for opening up the frontier, but she cannot expect much international help in either campaign, diplomats and experts say.
And Bangladesh’s warm welcome so far could easily sour if solutions are not found.

About 430,000 of the Muslim minority have streamed into Bangladesh since 25 August when attacks by Rohingya militants in Rakhine state unleashed a blitz by the Buddhist-dominated nation’s military.

The influx adds to about 300,000 Rohingya already in camps around the Bangladesh town of Cox’s Bazar. There is not enough food, water or medicine to go around and the human excrement on roads around the camps only adds to UN fears that serious diseases could quickly break out.

The country has reacted with compassion to horrific tales of rapes and killings told by the refugees. Scores of trucks of aid donated by the public are arriving each day in Cox’s Bazar. But it is not enough.

“Bangladesh can’t deal with this crisis alone,” said Champa Patel, head of the Asia Program at the Chatham House international affairs institute in London.

“It is densely populated, poor and already home to a historically displaced Rohingya community. While currently welcoming, this could change if the situation becomes protracted without any clear end in sight.”

At the UN General Assembly last week, Hasina sought global efforts to solve the problems of the Rohingya, stateless as Myanmar refuses to give them citizenship and unloved there.

She called for the establishment of safe zones for the Rohingya. Myanmar has not responded.

Zero influence -
Hasina also wants pressure on Myanmar to take back the group that has been in Rakhine for generations. But neither Bangladesh nor Western countries who have been shocked by events in Myanmar have any real clout over its de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi or the generals attributed with effective power.

“The Myanmar army holds the key to resolve the crisis, in the immediate and short term,” Ali Riaz, a professor of Illinois State University in the United States and an expert on Bangladesh-Myanmar relations, told AFP.

“An extremist Buddhist nationalist political force has thrived in past decades in Myanmar,” Riaz said.

Bangladesh has “few effective instruments of statecraft at its disposal” to make Myanmar take back the refugees, according to Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington and specialist on Southeast Asian security.

No regional group has shown a desire to get involved either. There have been demonstrations in Indonesia and Malaysia for the Rohingya. Both are members with Myanmar of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Bangladesh could try to work with Malaysia and Indonesia to pressure Myanmar through ASEAN. But that is not going to work. The Rohingya issue is very divisive within ASEAN,” said Abuza.

China and India are the keys to influencing Myanmar. Both have supported the Yangon government out of economic interests, said Patel at Chatham House and there is little Dhaka can do with either of the economic giants.

They “have investments in the country that they would not want to be undermined because of the current crisis.”

The Myanmar generals are not listening to anyone anyway, according to Abuza.

“The Burmese military leadership has factored in the diplomatic costs of its actions. I think it is important to understand that they have been itching to do this for a long time,” he said.

The Rohingya problem could however pose “a security threat to the entire region” if extremist groups lay roots in the camps of disaffected Muslims, warned Mubashar Hasan, a politics professor at North South University in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has struggled for years with homegrown Islamis allegedly linked to Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

Bangladesh’s internal worries—it fears radical Rohingya could add to Islamist troubles in the country—can be seen in restrictions on movement placed on the Rohingya. Telecoms operators have been banned from giving them mobile phones.
Even silenced and stateless, the Rohingya problem will not go away.
http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/160671/Bangladesh-faces-long-haul-Rohingya-crises

 

[Tshering22]

I just don't get it; these guys have no homes, no food, no belongings and yet all of them have 6-7 kids!

Like how were they sustaining themselves?!

 

[UKBengali]

I just don't get it; these guys have no homes, no food, no belongings and yet all of them have 6-7 kids!

Like how were they sustaining themselves?!

They had homes and land in Arakan.

 

[Banglar Bir]

M, September 25, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 06:30 PM, September 25, 2017
Undocumented Rohingyas see 3.7-fold rise: Report
53pc of 607,735 undocumented Rohingyas women, girls

People wait to receive aid in Cox's Bazar, September 25, 2017. Photo: Reuters
UNB, Dhaka

Some 607,735 undocumented Rohingyas have been identified in four upazilas of Cox's Bazar district and 53 percent of them are women and girls, says a new report.

The assessment was done in four upazilas of the district -- Cox's Bazar Sadar, Ramu, Teknaf and Ukhia.

This represents a 3.7-fold increase since the last reporting period in July, 2017 (164,000 displaced individuals), according to a report of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) a copy of which UNB received on Monday.

A total of 429,308 undocumented Rohingyas have arrived since August 25 due to the current ongoing outbreak of violence in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The majority of undocumented Rohingyas are living in Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas of Cox's Bazar district, a district bordering Myanmar identified as the main entry area for border crossing.

A total of 143 locations in 85 sites were assessed between September 5- 21, 2017.

A comprehensive registration system is still missing and therefore individual identification and information on the demographic breakdown is currently done through an extrapolation and estimation process, said the report.

The Needs and Population Monitoring (NPM) assessment provides an estimate at the site level.

An estimated seven per cent of undocumented Rohingyas are children under one year old, 29 per cent are children under five years old and four per cent are 60 years or older, according to preliminary findings of the report.

Ten per cent are pregnant or lactating women, said the report adding that 12 per cent of the undocumented Myanmar nationals households are headed by women, a situation that likely increases their vulnerability.

The NPM identified 1,480 unaccompanied and separated children, it said.

While there were around 113,735 undocumented Myanmar nationals in makeshift settlements in the beginning of August, that number has increased three-fold to 350,041 during the current reporting period.

Some 59,021 Rohingyas in Teknaf and 291,020 in Ukhia are living in makeshift settlements.

Out of 37 assessed locations in makeshift settlements, 14 per cent are katcha (temporary shelters made of materials such as mud brick, bamboo, sun-grass and wood) and 76 per cent are jhupri (shacks made of components such as jute sticks, tree leaves and jute sacks). Data was not yet collected for the remaining 10 per cent.

While there were 50,397 undocumented Rohingyas residing in host communities spread across two upazilas in the beginning of August, the NPM recorded the presence of 257,694 undocumented Rohingyas residing in host communities by 21 September across the four upazilas.

In 67 per cent of assessed host community locations, undocumented Rohingyas were living in katcha; 28 percent in Jhupri, and one per cent in semipucca (semi-permanent shelters where walls are made partially of bricks, floors are cemented and roofs of corrugated iron sheets).

Data was not yet collected in four per cent of locations.

The majority of undocumented Rohingyas at all assessed locations cite Rakhine state in Myanmar as origin.

Within Rakhine state, the majority populations of every assessed site reported originating from Maungdaw district.

One assessed location of approximately 2,000 undocumented Rohingyas, reported the township Buthidaung as place of origin while all other locations came from approximately 20 different villages of the township, Maungdaw within the district of the same name.

Maungdaw township is the westernmost town of Myanmar, right at the border with Bangladesh.

A narrow strait of 2-3km water separates the two countries. Buthidaung lies a few kilometres further inland.

Eighty-nine per cent of locations reported undocumented Rohingyas are buying food at local market.

Thirty-one per cent of locations acquired food through UN, INGO or NGO distributions and a further 21 per cent claimed to feed themselves by fishing.

The most common means of livelihoods was reported to be daily labour being the primary source of income at 57 percent of locations.

Fishing was reported to be the primary source of income at 25 per cent of locations.

The third most common answer was that there was no income at all.

Children at 89 per cent of locations could access a moktab or madarasa which were on site less than 30 minutes away at over half of all locations.

While 67 per cent of locations reported access to non-formal educational, this access was deemed to be limited for adolescent girls at 58 per cent of locations.

While the reasons were most of the time not clearly stated, many locations explained this barrier as being social norms (28 pc) a safety concern (18 pc).

Fifty per cent of locations additionally reported barriers to access education for boys, which were mainly due to the fact they these were engaged in other livelihood activities (34 pc of locations).

The National Strategy on Myanmar Refugees and Undocumented Myanmar Nationals (UMN) formulated by the government of Bangladesh highlighted the fact that the influx slowed in late February 2017.

However, new arrivals were reported in July 2017, and a massive influx started in late August 2017 as a result of further violence.
http://www.thedailystar.net/world/m...ted-rohingyas-see-37-fold-rise-report-1467520

Navy to develop Thengar Char to shelter the Rohingya
Asif Showkat Kallol
Published at 04:20 PM September 25, 2017
Last updated at 05:01 PM September 25, 2017

Buffalos are seen in the Thengar Char island in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, February 2, 2017. Picture taken February 2, 2017. Reuters
The Navy will build embankments around the Char, basic infrastructure and also a small naval base
Bangladesh Navy has been given the responsibility to develop 13,000 acres of land in Thengar Char, now known as Bhasan Char, to create temporary accommodation for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Finance Division officials said the project, which will be carried out in the next couple of years, has an estimated cost of Tk1,000cr.

Cox’s Bazar Magistrate Md Ali Hossain last week expressed his concerns to the government about Rohingya people dispersing across the country and sought cooperation from law enforcement agencies.

Specific areas will be needed to transfer Rohingya people, his letter to the Public Administration Division said. He requested four platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to remove the refugees from Ukhiya to Kutupalong and Balukhali Road to the camps in Kutupalong and Balukhali.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina selected Bhasan Char for the creation of new camps for the Rohingya. In New York to attend the UN General Assembly, she told a press conference on Saturday that that Rohingya would be able to stay in the Char with comfort.

An official of Finance Division said the top officials of the division along with Bangladesh Navy and Ministry of Land officials visited Bhasan Char last week to see the situation on the ground.

It will be one of biggest projects to be undertaken by Bangladesh Navy. The major challenge is the construction of embankment across the Char to protect it from sea water.

The official also said: “A large portion of Bhasan Char usually goes under seawater three months a year. The proposed embankment will protect that island from submersion.”

According to the Bangladesh Navy proposal, infrastructure will be developed there to ensure security of the people and refugees who will live on that island and a small naval base will also set up there. A total of 100 Navy personnel will live there after the construction of the base, the proposal said.

There are 13,000 acres of Khas land in Bhasan Char. The plan proposes to accommodate about 70,000 Rohingya refugees there.

In February this year, the government announced plans to rehabilitate Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The plan faced some criticism internationally. Critics said the Char was isolated from the mainland and unsuitable for living.

The government in response said international observers would be asked to inspect the place after the construction of overall infrastructure. Currently over half a million Rohingya refugees are living in Bangladesh, half of whom have entered the country in the last 30 days, fleeing violence in Myanmar.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2017/09/25/navy-develop-thengar-char-shelter-rohingya/

 

[Banglar Bir]

UN: Rohingya must not be forced to move to remote island
AFP
Published at 01:34 AM September 26, 2017
Last updated at 01:42 AM September 26, 2017

Rohingya refugees wait to receive aid in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, September 24, 2017 Reuters
More than 435,000 refugees have crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 25 when a military crackdown was launched following attacks by Rohingya militants
Bangladesh must not force Rohingya who have fled Myanmar to move to camps on a desolate island, the UN refugee chief said Monday.

Authorities have stepped up moves to house the Rohingya on the island in the Bay of Bengal since a new surge which now more than 435,000 refugees started arriving on August 25.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had mentioned the relocation plan when they met in July. There were already 300,000 Rohingya in camps near the border at Cox’s Bazar before the latest influx started.

But he insisted that any move from the camps to Bhashan Char island – also known as Thengar Char – “has to be voluntary on the part of the refugees”.

“We cannot force people to go to the place. So the option for the medium term, let’s say – I don’t want to talk about long-term – has to be also something that is acceptable to the people that go there,” he said.

“Otherwise it won’t work. Otherwise people won’t go.”

The United Nations has praised Bangladesh for taking in the Rohingya, who fled a military crackdown in Myanmar. It has appealed for international help for the authorities.

“It is good to think ahead. These people (Rohingya) may not be able to go back very quickly and especially now the population has now doubled,” Grandi told a Dhaka press briefing.

The UNHCR chief said his agency was ready to help the island plan with a “technical study of the options.

“That’s all that we are ready to give. We are not giving it yet because I have not seen any concrete options on any paper.”

The small island in the estuary of the Meghna river is a one-hour boat ride from Sandwip, the nearest inhabited island, and two hours from Hatiya, one of Bangladesh’s largest islands.

The government has tasked the navy with making it ready for the Rohingya. Two helipads and a small road have been built.

The authorities first proposed settling the Rohingya there in 2015, as the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar became overstretched.

But the plan was apparently shelved last year amid reports that the silty island, which only emerged from the sea in 2006, was often unhabitable due to regular tidal flooding.

In recent weeks, Bangladesh has appealed for international support to move the Rohingya to the island as the impoverished nation struggles to cope with the influx.

More than 435,000 refugees have crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 25 when a military crackdown was launched following attacks by Rohingya militants.

There is not enough food, water or medicine to go around. Roads around the camps are littered with human excrement, fuelling UN fears that serious disease could quickly break out.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/s...-rohingya-must-not-forced-move-remote-island/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Bangladesh govt reluctant to grant refugee status to Rohingya
Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
Published at 11:31 AM September 26, 2017
Last updated at 12:03 PM September 26, 2017

Rohingya refugees march under the scorching sun in Cox's Bazar on their way to refugee camps Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune
Senior officials say it will be more difficult to send the Rohingya back to Myanmar if they are granted refugee status here
The government of Bangladesh is reluctant to grant refugee status to the Rohingya people who fled Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown on August 25.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has requested Bangladesh to grant refugee status to the Rohingya on several occasions, but the government is yet to respond positively to it.

Senior officials say it will be more difficult to send the Rohingya back to Myanmar if they are granted refugee status here.

Wishing anonymity, a government official told Bangla Tribune: “On several occasions, the UNHCR requested Bangladesh to grant refugee status to Rohingya but Bangladesh has decided against the move for now.

“If Myanmar wants to take back the Rohingya then they can do so anytime, regardless of their [Rohingya] refugee status.”

The official said: “The way Rohingya were persecuted in the last four decades the chance of Myanmar taking them back is thin.”

Stating that Myanmar earlier refused to take back Rohingya living in refugee camps since 2005, he said Myanmar has not yet changed their stance regarding the Rohingya even after facing widespread criticism from the international community.

The government official also expressed concern that Cox’s Bazar region might turn into a refugee colony.

Earlier on Monday, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya held a meeting with UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi at the secretariat to discuss the refugee crisis.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Maya said: “Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar are trespassers.”

At a press conference on Sunday, the UNCHER chief said: “We must grant refugee status to the Rohingya who fled from Myanmar and we must take further steps to support them.”
This article was first published on Bangla Tribune
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...govt-reluctant-grant-refugee-status-rohingya/

 

[Banglar Bir]

05:42 PM, September 27, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:49 PM, September 27, 2017
"Big question" is whether Rohingya can go home:UN refugee chief

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi attends a news conference on Myanmar at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 27, 2017. Photo: Reuters
Reuters, Geneva

The United Nations refugee chief called today for the plight of up to 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to be resolved, saying the "big question" was whether they would be allowed to return to their homeland.

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, speaking on return from a visit to Bangladesh, said that he hoped to discuss the issue of statelessness of Rohingya with Myanmar authorities at a meeting in Geneva next week.

"It is very clear the cause of this crisis is in Myanmar but that the solution is also in Myanmar," he told a news conference in Geneva. He warned that "the risk of spread of terrorist violence in this particular region is very very high" unless the issue are resolved.
http://www.thedailystar.net/world/m...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=al

 

[Banglar Bir]

11:14 AM, September 28, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:19 PM, September 28, 2017
Bangladesh needs longer-term plan for Rohingya: UN

Rohingya refugees approach the Kutupalang Refugee Camp after illegally crossing Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo: Reuters
AFP, Geneva
The nearly half a million Rohingya refugees who have entered Bangladesh since August will likely not be leaving soon, the UN said Wednesday, calling for longer-term plans to manage the influx.
The head of the United Nations refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, called the current camp set up "a recipe for disaster", with overcrowding and unhygienic conditions creating a breeding ground for "possible epidemics."

"The important thing is to get people in places where they can be assisted more easily," Grandi told reporters in Geneva, referring to the estimated 480 000 mostly Muslim Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar violence.

"It is most likely that return will take time, if it happens, if the violence stops. It will be important also to find in the medium term suitable solutions for the people that are in Bangladesh."

"The first challenge is to get people out of the mud and the despair which they are finding themselves in", he added.

Grandi said he was in talks with Dhaka about forming a "technical committee" with the UN to look at options for longer-term Rohingya settlements.

"There are in reality many different options that the Bangladesh government is studying, and understandably they are not easy", he said, noting the strain placed on local communities in the Cox's Bazar area on the Myanmar border.

Aid agencies say that the largely makeshift camps in Cox's Bazar are bursting at the seams, amid struggles to bring in adequate food and shelter.

Impoverished Bangladesh has earned praise for its response so far.

Rohingya have been fleeing Rakhine state in northeast Myanmar for decades. The new exodus began on August 25 when deadly attacks by Rohingya militants on Myanmar police posts prompted a military crackdown.

The International Organisation for Migration has estimated that there are more than 800 000 Rohingya currently in Bangladesh, including those who fled Myanmar before the latest crisis.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said the country was ready to verify the refugee status of those who have fled, but has not guaranteed the right of return for all.
http://www.thedailystar.net/world/r...ger-term-plan-rohingya-united-nations-1468960

Rohingya influx may hurt Bangladesh economy
Ishtiaq HusainIbrahim Hossain Ovi
Published at 03:06 PM September 28, 2017
Last updated at 04:48 PM September 28, 2017

Experts have also warned that the cost of housing and feeding the 436,000 Rohingya refugees could be as high as Tk8 crores a monthSyed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune
The intensity of these impacts will be more visible when flow of international aid lessens, experts observed
Bangladesh’s economy will face multiple adverse impacts due to the ongoing influx of the Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine State if they are not repatriated soon, say economists and experts.

The impacts include local food inflation, shortage of food grains, hike in prices of essentials and transportation, pressure on natural resources and tourism, along with various social issues.

The intensity of these will be more visible when flow of international aid lessens, experts observed. They said if the crisis is not resolved soon then a huge amount of money, foods and natural resources will be spent to support the Rohingya.

According to the UN, about 480,000 Rohingya refugees entered Bangladesh for shelter since the Myanmar government crackdown started on the ethnic group in late August.

“Once our economy is affected badly, food items and household materials will witness price hike,” former finance adviser to a caretaker government ABM Mirza Azizul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the budget allocation of FY2017-18 may fall short as they were finalised without considering the latest Rohingya influx, and the government is and will continue spending a lot of money to feed and shelter the refugees.

“The government will have to revise the budget and increase allocation. Otherwise projects will be shelved and expenditures will be cut,” he added.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, people of Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya upazila had also expressed concerns over the climbing prices of essential commodities.

“Prices of almost everything have risen in the last two weeks due to higher demand following the Rohingya influx. Transportation costs here have almost doubled,” said Shamsul Alam, a resident at Balukhali.

As of Monday, per kilogram onion was sold at Tk60 and potato at Tk40 at Ukhiya. Both items were sold at Tk45 and Tk25, respectively, in Dhaka.

However, traders claimed that prices have gone up due to higher transportation cost and a price hike at source level.

Meanwhile, people in the tourism sector in Cox’s Bazar district, which houses many major tourist spots, are concerned about the upcoming season starting from November as the refugee crisis is yet to de-escalate.

“If the crisis is not resolved soon, it will threaten and impact the business,” an owner of a Cox’s Bazar hotel, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said the marine drive, one of the most attractive tourist spots there, should be made inaccessible to all Rohingya.

ABM Mirza Azizul Islam also said that Rohingya refugees spreading throughout the district will surely threaten tourism as tourists will be reluctant to visit over security issues and chaos.

However, James Babu Hazra, secretary general of Bangladesh Hotel and Guest House Owners Association, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Since the army is monitoring the Rohingya issue now, the tourists won’t face any security issues and will be able to move freely.”

But the businesses in Teknaf and Saint Martin’s Island will suffer if proper measures are not taken, he said.

Md Nasir Uddin, chief executive officer of Bangladesh Tourism Board, said the local tourism sector will not face any problem if the government manages to shelter the Rohingya properly.

“We can’t avoid the Rohingya, considering humanitarian grounds. But if we can bring their unrestricted movement under control, everything can be managed.”

Experts have also warned that the cost of housing and feeding the 480,000 Rohingya refugees could be as high as Tk8 crores a month.

“The current estimate stands at over Tk6,400 crore to Tk8,000 crore a year for the refugees: up to 70% of Bangladesh’s income per capita,” Ashikur Rahman, a senior economist of Policy Research Institute, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“This, however, is a conservative estimate, which would provide only for basic services.”

A distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Debapriya Bhattacharya said there were two types of costs involved in providing the stricken Rohingya with essential services: direct and indirect.

“Direct costs include food and health services while indirect costs are incurred by the community and environment,” he said.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2017/09/28/rohingya-influx-may-hurt-bangladesh-economy/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Uncertainty looms over the Rohingya return
Abdur Rahman Khan
The United Nations refugee chief called on Wednesday for the plight of up to 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to be resolved, saying the “big question” was whether they would be allowed to return to their homeland.

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, speaking in Geneva on return from a visit to Bangladesh, said that he hoped to discuss the issue of statelessness of Rohingya with Myanmar authorities at a meeting in Geneva next week.
“It is very clear the cause of this crisis is in Myanmar but that the solution is also in Myanmar,” he told a news conference in Geneva. He warned that “the risk of spread of terrorist violence in this particular region is very, very high” unless the issue are resolved.
The Buddhist Terror
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused the security forces in Myanmar of waging a “Buddhist terror” against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.

Erdogan, who has repeatedly highlighted the plight of the Rohingya, again accused the Myanmar government of carrying out “genocide” against the people in Rakhine state. In a speech in Istanbul, Erdogan lamented the failure of the international community to lay sanctions against the Myanmar government over its campaign.

“There is a very clear genocide over there,” Erdogan said. Erdogan, who has held talks by phone with Myanmar’s key leader the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung Sang Suu Kyi, added: “Buddhists always get represented as envoys of goodwill.” “At the moment, there is a clear Buddhist terror in Myanmar... I don’t know how you can gloss over this with yoga, schmoga. This is a fact here. And all humanity needs to know this.”

More than 430,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled across the border to Bangladesh from a military campaign which the UN says likely amounts to ethnic cleansing of the stateless minority. Before the most recent surge of violence, there were over one million Rohingyas in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state in the west of the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.

Erdogan, himself a pious Muslim, takes a sharp interest in the fate of Muslim communities across the world and notably sees himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause. Returning for a key personal theme, he lambasted the international community for being quick to denounce “Islamic terror” but not “Christian terror”, “Jewish terror” or “Buddhist terror”.
World Bank offers grant
Meanwhile, the World Bank offered grants to Bangladesh for programmes exclusively for the Rohingya refugees, “The World Bank stands ready to support the government in addressing the growing refugee crisis if the government seeks the World Bank’s assistance,” WB Country Director Qimiao Fan told reporters at his office in Dhaka.

He made the comments while speaking at the release of the Bangladesh Development Update. Zahid Hussain, lead economist of the WB Bangladesh, delivered the keynote presentation. Qimiao said the money would come from a new window opened under the current round of the WB’s cheap loans for the poor countries.

The bank in its first-ever move of such kind has allocated $2 billion for the sub-window for refugees within the International Development Association (IDA) for those seeking refuge in different parts of the world, under which any nation can get a maximum share of $400 million.
Dhaka wants strong UNSC action
However, Dhaka wants the UN Security Council to take “strong stance and swift action” to end the “ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar and to restore peace and stability in the strife-torn Rakhine State to facilitate a smooth return of Rohingyas.

“We expect such concrete steps through which the forcibly displaced people from Myanmar can return to their homeland smoothly and without any fear,” Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said on Wednesday.

He made the comment after briefing the Dhaka-based diplomats of the Security Council member countries ahead of the UNSC’s meeting Thursday to discuss the violence in Myanmar and hear a briefing from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the crisis.

Bangladesh is scheduled to put across its case to the UN Security Council debate as countries which are not UNSC members can give their speeches in the open debate beginning Thursday.
Britain, France, the US and four other countries—Sweden, Egypt, Senegal, and Kazakhstan—have requested the meeting after around half a million Rohingyas, fled a military crackdown in Myanmar since August 25 and crossed into Bangladesh.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called the security operation as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and French President Emmanuel Macron last week went further, calling it “genocide.”

The diplomatic briefing held at state guesthouse Meghna was attended by the envoys of five UNSC permanent members—the US, the UK, France, Russia and China—and four non-permanent members—Japan, Italy, Sweden and Egypt.

Amid fear that China and Russia may veto any strong statement or resolution, which may come out from the UNSC meeting, Dhaka had hectic talks with the envoys of the two countries in Dhaka and New York.

Bangladeshi envoys also met foreign ministry officials in Moscow and Beijing to persuade them to refrain from any move against the ongoing humanitarian crisis which is adversely affecting Bangladesh.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx

 

[Banglar Bir]

Myanmar cancels UN Rakhine visit
Tribune Desk
Published at 05:35 PM September 28, 2017

In this picture taken on September 27, 2017, Myanmar soldiers stand guard in Maungdaw in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state AFP
The UN has drawn up a contingency plan to feed up to 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, and warned that those who fled will not be returning home soon
The United Nations says a planned visit to Rakhine state, which has seen a mass exodus of Rohingya, has been cancelled by the Myanmar authorities.

The visit would have been the first by UN officials to the area since violence broke out on August 25.

UN aid personnel were forced to leave Rakhine when the military began a crackdown on Rohingya militants behind attacks on security personnel.

A UN spokesperson in Yangon told the BBC no reason was given for the move.

The UN has been pushing to visit Rakhine to investigate the flight of more than 480,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh in a month.

Rohingya who have crossed the border accuse Myanmar’s military, backed by Buddhist mobs, of trying to drive them out with a brutal campaign of beatings, killings and village burnings. Images and reports from journalists confirm many villages have been razed.

Assessing the situation on the ground in Rakhine is difficult because access is tightly controlled. But humanitarian groups say that in addition to those who have fled to Bangladesh, say many people are displaced within Rakhine and hundreds of thousands lack food, shelter and medical care.

The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority, are denied citizenship by Myanmar, which says they are illegal immigrants. Rakhine Buddhists are the majority in the state and deadly communal violence has erupted several times in the past.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday, before the cancellation, that chiefs of UN agencies were due to take part in the trip, which he hoped would be “a first step towards much freer and wider access to the area”.

Later on Thursday the UN Security Council is due to meet in New York to discuss the crisis.

Myanmar’s de facto leader has faced strong international criticism for her government’s handling of the crisis. On Thursday UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field met Ms Suu Kyi and urged her to end the violence in Rakhine.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/south-asia/2017/09/28/myanmar-allows-un-visit-rakhine/

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, September 30, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 02:40 AM, September 30, 2017
ROHINGYAS DISPLACED FROM MYANMAR
Dhaka for safe, sustainable return of all
Unb, Dhaka
Bangladesh has called for measures to ensure safe, voluntary and sustainable return of all the people displaced from Myanmar into its territory over the years, including those displaced recently.

“Bangladesh looks forward to immediately start working with Myanmar and the international community to help implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State,” said Masud Bin Momen, ambassador and permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN.

He was addressing a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the “Situation in Myanmar” early yesterday.

The envoy said Bangladesh continues to exercise utmost restraint in the face of repeated, unwarranted and willful provocations by Myanmar. “As a responsible and responsive state, we shall forge ahead seeking a peaceful and lasting solution to this protracted situation through diplomacy, dialogue and cooperation.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a five-point proposal at the UN General Assembly last week. The proposal has largely been echoed by the UN secretary-general and the UNSC members, he told the meeting in New York.

“Pursuant to those points, the immediate priorities should be to cease all forms of violence and ensure protection and humanitarian assistance for those affected or vulnerable in Rakhine State,” Momen added.

He said Bangladesh prefers a joint verification process in the presence of international observers. “The forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals should return to their places of original abode in safety, security and dignity.”

Reiterating Hasina's stance, the envoy said the crisis has its roots in Myanmar and its solution has to be found there.

He said Bangladesh, however, remains committed to engaging with Myanmar and the international community for the resolution of this critical issue.

“Our experience over the last three decades makes it obvious that the bilateral track loses its momentum as soon as the international community shifts its attention elsewhere.

“We, therefore, urge this Council to keep this issue alive in its agenda and make sure that we manage to arrive to the point of its logical conclusion. We also invite the Council members to conduct a field mission to Bangladesh and possibly to Myanmar to gather first-hand accounts of the unfolding humanitarian crisis,” he told the UNSC.

The ambassador extended sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the UNSC members for showing support to Bangladesh.

According to the UN, over half a million people have entered Bangladesh fleeing violence in Rakhine since August 25.

Despite serious constrains, Bangladesh has given shelter to these distressed Rohingyas, mostly women and children.

“We are providing these forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals with basic and emergency humanitarian assistance. The international community has come forward in the spirit of sharing responsibility, although the UN and other relevant partners are stretched beyond their capacity,” said Momen.

Bangladesh is also carrying out biometric registration of the Rohingyas.

With the latest influx, Bangladesh is currently hosting over 900,000 Rohingyas. “This is an untenable situation, to say the least,” the envoy said.

According to the ambassador, the indiscriminate killing and torture by the Myanmar security forces, aided by vigilante groups acting on religious and ethnic affiliation, has already been cited as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN high commissioner for human rights.

Under the circumstances, Momen said, it is of utmost importance that the remaining Rohingya civilians in Rakhine were guaranteed unconditional protection by creating UN-administered “safe zones” inside Myanmar.

It must also be ensured that humanitarian assistance reaches all affected communities, in particular to the Rohingyas. Myanmar must ensure full and unfettered humanitarian access to the UN and other humanitarian agencies, he mentioned.

“There is perhaps no taker for the baseless and malicious propaganda to project Rohingyas as 'illegal immigrants from Bangladesh'. This is not only a blatant denial of the ethnic identity of the Rohingyas, but also an affront to Bangalees all over the world. This has to stop,” Momen said.

The envoy called upon the UNSC to take into account that more than two divisions of armed forces had been reportedly deployed by Myanmar in areas near the Bangladesh border since the first week of August.

Troops were spotted within 200 metres of the zero line, and heavy armaments and artillery were reportedly placed in close proximity of the Bangladesh border, he said.

There have been 19 reported incidents of Bangladesh's air space violation by Myanmar helicopters and drones, the envoy mentioned.

He said anti-personnel mines have reportedly been laid along the stretch of the border to prevent the return of Rohingyas to Myanmar and there have been incidents of firing on Bangladeshi fishermen, resulting in death of one.
http://www.thedailystar.net/world/rohingya-crisis/dhaka-safe-sustainable-return-all-1469797

 

[Banglar Bir]

Bangladesh to formulate national strategy for Rohingya refugees
Bangladesh has planned to set up a camp on 15,000 acres of land in Bhasan Char of Noakhali at a cost of Tk2,000cr to settle the refugees
SAM Report, October 2, 2017

Concerned government officials are set to hold a meeting to formulate a new national strategy for supporting the influx of undocumented Rohingya people entering Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar.

The meeting of “National Taskforce on Implementation of National Strategy on Myanmar Refugees and Undocumented Myanmar Nationals” will be held at the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka on Monday.

Representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance Division, Home Ministry, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, armed forces, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, and Chittagong Hill Tracts Division will attend the meeting.

Concerned officials said the government has a huge backlog of work to do in regard to the undocumented Myanmar nationals, as the Rohingya census in six districts has yet to be completed.

Bangladesh has planned to set up a camp on 15,000 acres of land in Bhasan Char of Noakhali at a cost of Tk2,000cr to settle the refugees, the officials added.

They also said the government will reinforce its diplomatic maneuvers to prevent the possible use of veto power by Russia and China on the Rohingya issue in the United Nations Security Council.

About the impact of Rohingya influx on Bangladesh’s economy, an official of the Finance Ministry, who will attend the upcoming meeting, said there might be a very little impact on our national budget.

“Rehabilitation and management of the refugees would cost no more than Tk800cr,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Speaking on the issue, DrShamsulAlam, member of General Economics Division of the Planning Commission, however said that it is very likely that there will be some impact on the national budget due to the crisis.

“We are facing a food shortage because of frequent floods in recent months. In such circumstances, it is difficult for us to feed over a million Rohingya people, who have taken shelter here,” he said.

The UN and other development organisations will not always be providing food to them, DrShamsul added.

Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate in Cox’s Bazar, AKM Lutfor Rahman, who is involved in the biometric registration process for the refugees, said the registration is progressing quite slowly because of lack of logistical support and personnel.

“Additional manpower and logistical support are required to expedite the process. We hope we would be provided with the support by the next week,” he said.

A large number of Rohingya people are unaware about the biometric registration process. They do not even understand why the government is registering them, Lutfor added.

“We are making them understand that the government registers them so that they can easily be identified and to make sure all of them are getting facilities from Bangladesh and International Organization for Migration,” Lutfor told the Dhaka Tribune.

He further said: “At the beginning, we had written “Myanmar national” as their identity in the registration cards. We are now writing “Myanmar Rohingya” in the face of their objections, because they said they feel more comfortable with the latter.”

Around 32,284 refugees were registered as of Friday.

In addition to the 400,000 Rohingya who are already staying here, over half a million people have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar since August 24, after ethnic conflicts in Rakhine sparked the most rapid human exodus since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/10/02/bangladesh-formulate-national-strategy-rohingya-refugees/

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, October 01, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:42 PM, October 01, 2017
UNSC FAILS TO CENSURE MYANMAR
Can Rohingyas return to their homeland?

With the current inflow of over 500,000 Rohingyas, the total number of Rohingya refugees presently living in Bangladesh is now nearly one million. PHOTO: STAR
Mahmood Hasan
On September 28, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres briefed members of the Security Council in an open session on the ongoing violence in Rakhine which had forced 500,000 Rohingyas to take refuge in Bangladesh. The meeting was held at the request of 7 members of the Security Council. No statement was issued by the President of the Council—currently held by Ethiopia.

At the briefing, Secretary General Guterres said that “the situation has spiralled into the world's fastest developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare…We have received bone-chilling accounts from those who fled.” Testimonies pointed to serious human rights violations, noted Guterres. “This is unacceptable and must end immediately,” demanded the Secretary General.

Myanmar's representative U Thaung Tun, echoing Aung San Suu Kyi, denied all allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Bangladesh's Ambassador Masud Bin Momen reflected on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's plan, calling for the creation of safe zones inside Myanmar and repatriation of the displaced Rohingyas. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said, “We must consider action against Burmese security forces who are implicated in abuses and stoking hatred.” US, Britain and France, all permanent members, were joined by other members demanding immediate end to the ongoing violence and a strong UNSC response. Japan condemned the attacks on civilians. But Chinese deputy Ambassador Wu Haitao said that the situation in Rakhine was stabilising and that all parties should work constructively. Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia warned that “excessive pressure” on Myanmar's government “could only aggravate the situation in the country and around it.” China and Russia, both permanent members, were against issuing any statement.

Bangladesh wanted a consensus leading to a strong statement from the UNSC calling upon the Myanmar authorities to stop the ethnic cleansing and create a situation that would facilitate the return of the Rohingyas from Bangladesh. With the current inflow of over 500,000 Rohingyas, the total number of Rohingya refugee presently living in Bangladesh is now nearly one million—an untenable economic burden on Bangladesh. Clearly, the permanent members were divided—a serious setback for Bangladesh.

The crux of the crisis lies in the Myanmar authorities' refusal to grant citizenship to the Rojhingyas and the systematic discrimination against them that has continued since the promulgation of the 1982 Citizenship Law. The narrative that follows is all too familiar for repetition.

The Annan report also mentioned the citizenship issue very cursorily. There are serious lacunae in the recommendations—it does not use the term “Rohingya” but “Muslims of Rakhine”; it does not call upon Myanmar to restore citizenship and basic rights of the Rohingyas, but only calls on the Myanmar government to quicken the verification process and revisit (not change) the 1982 Citizenship Law.

Suu Kyi in her speech to the Myanmar parliament on September 19 mentioned that all Rohingyas (she did not use the term) would be able to return after a process of verification. This is a clear trap; as the verification process would drag on for years, if not decades. Primarily because the majority of Rohingyas do not possess any document issued by the Myanmar authorities. It would be a herculean task for international organisations—IOM, OCHA, UNHCR, etc—to prove that these are displaced Rohingyas, who fled Rakhine following brutal persecution.

The Annan report is clearly a tailored document that fits in with the Rohingya expulsion plan of the Myanmar junta. The Commission was set up by Suu Kyi, presumably at the junta's advice, to deflect world opinion. It neither had any international mandate nor was Bangladesh involved in setting it up.

The junta has been planning for decades to change the demographic composition of Rakhine. It had planned to expel the Rohingya Muslims and Hindus from Rakhine and establish Buddhist majority in the state. That policy led to repeated violence against the Rohingyas since 1978 and forced these people to repeatedly take refuge in Bangladesh.

After the current spate of ethnic cleansing, the junta is determined not to allow the displaced Rohingyas to return to Myanmar. The junta's policy towards Rohingyas was made abundantly clear by Myanmar's Army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing when he said, “They have demanded recognition as Rohingyas, which has never been an ethnic group in Myanmar.” The Myanmar military has planted landmines along the border with Bangladesh. According to reports, it has mobilised 70 battalions of troops with heavy artillery and equipment to crush ARSA insurgency and thwart the Rohingyas from returning to Rakhine.

Referring to the process of repatriation of Rohingyas, Guterres said that the 1993 Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh and Myanmar was not sufficient in the present circumstances. “The Muslims of Rakhine state should be granted nationality” the Secretary General insisted. If Suu Kyi's offer for the verification process is taken along with the Annan recommendations, only a handful of Rohingyas will be able to go back to Myanmar—much less than those of 1978 and 1993. General Hlaing, it seems, will certainly not agree to take back all the Rohingyas.

The Rohingya issue is an internal issue for Myanmar; but has become an international issue because of the exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh. Therefore, Bangladesh must keep the UN Security Council fully involved in the repatriation of these people and in resolving the problem permanently. It would be a folly if Bangladesh tries to resolve this problem bilaterally with Myanmar.

Bangladesh has to convince China and Russia and get the UNSC to adopt a binding resolution with the following included: i) impose economic sanctions on Myanmar, for as long as this crisis is not permanently resolved; ii) repatriation of all Rohingyas within a fixed timeframe, under UN supervision; and, iii) grant full citizenship to all Rohingyas with their human rights fully recognised.

Unless the UNSC comes forward with a stringent resolution under Chapter VII of its Charter, it appears that Bangladesh is doomed to host these hapless Rohingyas for a long time.
Mahmood Hasan is former Ambassador and Secretary.
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/bystander/can-rohingyas-return-their-homeland-1470073

 

[Banglar Bir]

‘Are we heading for a Bihari-like situation?’
SAM Staff, September 27, 2017

Obsession with one nation, one religion and one language continues down till today in Myanmar, leading to its present predicament. The psyche of the country has been shaped by a fear of disintegration, xenophobia, military fears of uprisings and invasions and also by a strong sense of Burmese nationalism.

These observations were made by Brig Gen (retd) Shafaat Ahmad, PhD scholar on Myanmar Studies. He was speaking at a roundtable on ‘Understanding Myanmar: Managing the Rohingya Refugee Crisis.’ The roundtable was organised by Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies (BIPSS) at the think-tank’s office in the capital city on Tuesday.

At the outset of the programme, BIPSS president Maj Gen (retd) Muniruzzaman pointed out that, to understand the present crisis pertaining to the Rohingyas, it was necessary to go back in history to understand the mindset of the people, the events and geo-political developments that have created the present-day situation.

“Buddhism is a binding force in Myanmar,” said Shafaat Ahmad, referring to a common saying that ‘to be Burman is to be Buddhist.’ It has been a society guided by the monks, he observed.

Pointing to the issues that boosted the extreme nationalism in Myanmar, he listed these as diarchy, education, political monks, the influx of Indian and the ultra-nationalist 969 movement.

The 2008 constitution gave enormous power to the military and obviously, Shafaat Ahmad pointed out, Aung San Suu Kyi virtually has no power at all. The foreign policy was shaped by the military and the country’s geo-strategic stakes lay with Indian and China.

There was a change in the foreign policy of Myanmar after 2001, when it shed its isolation and opened up to the world. It even held ASEAN chairmanship in 2014. There was a lifting of sanctions by various countries and visitors flocked to Myanmar. There was a new government at the helm and the leaders visited all the neighbouring countries, except Bangladesh.

In managing the refugee crisis, Shafaat Ahmad presented a brief chronology of the changing scenario for Rohingyas. In 1961, two Rohingyas were elected as members of parliament. In 2010, four Rohingyas were elected to the parliament. In 1962 the military took over. Then coming up to 1982, the Citizenship Act was imposed, denying the Rohingyas of their fundamental rights as citizens of Myanmar.

The key presentation posed questions in conclusion: What is the Bangladesh plan concerning the Rohingya refugee crisis? Are we heading for a Palestine or Bihari-like situation? Can the refugees be confined to a particular area? And for how long? And what is the involvement of the local political elements?

Commenting on the present situation, former election commissioner Brig Gen (red) Sakhawat Hossain referred to the ASEAN stand that this was an ‘internal affair of Myanmar’. He said this was the longest-ever civil war and though it affected Bangladesh, the Bangladesh government never had any tangible Burma policy.

He said the two countries that could help mediate the problem were China and India. However, neither would be interested in doing so. India had interests in its Kaladan multimodal project which ran through Myanmar. And China also had an enormous investment there. Another powerful country, Russia, had two nuclear reactor projects in Myanmar and had trained 20 Myanmar students in nuclear science for the sake of these projects. So given their respective interests, none of these countries were likely to intervene in the situation.

Former civil and military bureaucrats, media persons, academics and members of the civil society also spoke at the roundtable.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/09/27/heading-bihari-like-situation/

 

[Banglar Bir]

05:26 PM, October 06, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:37 PM, October 06, 2017
UN braces for further exodus

A Rohingya woman with her baby walks on the shore of the Naf river in Teknaf after crossing the border on Thursday, October 5, 2017. Photo: AFP
Reuters, Geneva/Yangon
Muslim Rohingya are still fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh and the United Nations is bracing for a possible "further exodus", the UN humanitarian aid chief said today.
Some 515,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine in six weeks since the end of August, in what the United Nations has called the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency.

The refugee crisis began after Myanmar security forces responded to Rohingya militant attacks on August 25 by unleashing a brutal crackdown that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar insists its forces must fight the "terrorists" who have killed civilians and burnt villages, and it rejects any suggestion of ethnic cleansing.

But rights groups say more than half of more than 400 Rohingya villages in the north of Rakhine State have been torched in a campaign by the security forces and Buddhist vigilantes to drive out Muslims.

Mark Lowcock, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, reiterated an appeal for access to the population in northern Rakhine, saying the situation was "unacceptable".

Myanmar has blocked most access to the area, although some agencies have offices open in towns there and the International Committee of the Red Cross is helping the Myanmar Red Cross to deliver aid.

"This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, it's into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya (who are) still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus," Lowcock told a news briefing in Geneva.

"Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim."

An estimated 2,000 Rohingya are arriving in Bangladesh every day, Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told a separate briefing.

Myanmar officials have said they attempted to reassure groups trying to flee to Bangladesh but could not stop people who were not citizens from leaving.

The official Myanmar News Agency said "large numbers" of Muslims were preparing to cross the border. It cited their reasons as "livelihood difficulties", health problems and a "belief" of insecurity.

Aid agencies have warned of a malnutrition crisis with about 281,000 people in Bangladesh in urgent need of food, including 145,000 children under five and more than 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.
RISK
Cholera is a risk, amid fears of disease spreading in the rain-drenched camps where aid workers are trying to install sanitation systems, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation said.

About 900,000 doses of cholera vaccines are due to arrive this weekend and a vaccination campaign should start on Tuesday.

UN-led aid bodies have appealed for $434 million over six months to help up to 1.2 million people - including 300,000 Rohingya already in Bangladesh before the latest crisis and 300,000 Bangladeshi villagers in so-called host communities.

The Rohingya are regarded as illegal immigrants in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and most are stateless.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has faced criticism for not doing more to stop the violence, although a military-drafted constitution gives her no power over the security forces.

She has condemned rights abuses and said Myanmar was ready to start a process agreed with Bangladesh in 1993 by which anyone verified as a refugee would be accepted back, but there is little hope for speedy repatriation.

Both the United States and Britain have warned Myanmar the crisis is putting at risk the progress it has made since the military began to loosen its grip on power.

China, which built close ties with Myanmar while it was under military rule and Western sanctions, has been supportive.

In Washington, US officials said sanctions and the withholding of aid were among the options available to press Myanmar to halt the violence but they had to be careful to avoid worsening the crisis.

"We don't want to take actions that exacerbate their suffering. There is that risk in this complicated environment," Patrick Murphy, a deputy assistant secretary of state, told a hearing of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
Murphy said efforts were underway to identify those responsible for rights violations.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...exodus-refugees-rakhine-state-myanmar-1472476