Commonwealth backs Bangladesh, demands justice for Rohingyas

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Commonwealth backs Bangladesh, demands justice for Rohingyas
Reazul Bashar from London, bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-04-21 03:35:14.0 BdST Updated: 2018-04-21 03:45:22.0 BdST

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The Commonwealth leaders have expressed solidarity with Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue and demanded justice for the persecution of the minority group in Myanmar.

“Heads expressed full solidarity with the Government and the people of Bangladesh affected by the influx of more than a million Rohingya from Rakhine State in Myanmar,” they said in a communiqué by the end of the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London on Friday.

The communiqué said they commended Bangladesh for providing shelter to the distressed community facing an existential threat.

It added the Commonwealth leaders called for “accountability of the perpetrators of gross violations of human rights through an independent process of investigation” along with a halt to all violence and a restoration of normality in Myanmar.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was also present.

At a seminar in London on Tuesday, she said more international pressure needed to be heaped on Myanmar to take back Rohingya refugees as she rejected claims by the Myanmar government the repatriation process had already started.

"Myanmar says they are ready to take back the Rohingya, but they are not taking the initiative," the prime minister said.

At the first executive session of CHOGM on Thursday, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised Hasina for her “outstanding” leadership in handling the Rohingya refugees.

“The Commonwealth leaders must support her," he said.

Hasina also spoke about the Rohingya issue for a long time in the meeting.

The prime minister referred to the five-point proposal she had presented in last year’s UN General Assembly.

She also called for support of the Commonwealth leaders to mount international pressure on Myanmar to take back the Rohingyas.

The communiqué said the Commonwealth leaders called for the sustainable return of all displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh to their “rightful homes” in Myanmar under UNHCR oversight.

They also called for the creation of the necessary conditions for sustainable return in safety, security and dignity.

They agreed action was needed to address the root causes of the current crisis, including through the immediate implementation of the recommendations by the Rakhine Advisory Commission headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan.

They described the general agreement and arrangements reached between Bangladesh and Myanmar as “a beginning towards the sustainable return of the Rohingya and their reintegration into Myanmar society as equal members”.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled from their homes in Myanmar to Bangladesh after Rohingya militant attacks in August sparked a military crackdown that the UN and Western nations have called ethnic cleansing.

Bangladesh was already sheltering around 400,000 Rohingyas who fled decades of persecution in Myanmar, which deny them citizenship.

The communiqué said the Commonwealth leaders also discussed many other issues, including gender equality and inclusion, strengthening democratic institutions and promoting peace, migration, intra-Commonwealth trade and investment, climate change and prevention of violent extremism, human trafficking and child exploitation.

They accepted the offer of Rwanda to host their next meeting in 2020.

 

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Why would Modi say Rohingyas ‘returned’ to Bangladesh?

• Ranjan Basu, Delhi
• Published at 03:05 PM April 20, 2018
• Last updated at 10:54 PM April 20, 2018

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on April 18, 2018, after attending a bilateral meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting AFP
It is evident that Modi’s comment may have put India in an embarrassing diplomatic situation, as the country’s Ministry of External Affairs so far declined to comment on the issue

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently visiting the United Kingdom, has triggered a fresh round of diplomatic debates by commenting that the Rohingyas “returned to Bangladesh” from Myanmar.

It is evident that Modi’s comment may have put India in an embarrassing diplomatic situation, as the country’s Ministry of External Affairs so far declined to comment on the issue.

Narendra Modi attended a views exchange program with non-resident Indians (NRIs) at the central hall of British Parliament on April 18.

In that program, titled “Bharat ki Baat, Saab ki Saath,” Modi discussed India’s important role in the international diplomatic arena, by using the Rohingya issue as an example.

Myanmar insists on not using the term “Rohingya,” so Indian government has a long-standing policy of not using this term.

However, the Indian prime minister used the term “Rohingya” at least three times at that program.

Addressing the guests, Modi said: “When the Rohingya crisis came into light in Myanmar, many countries across the globe announced their widely varying stances on the issue. But India went beyond just taking a stance.”

“When the Rohingya people returned to Bangladesh, we understood that Bangladesh is our friend. So we started sending steamers full of aid there. The Rohingyas that are staying in Bangladesh must not be allowed to die of starvation.”

Modi added that India should never turn its back on a humanitarian crisis.

Continuing his speech, the Indian prime minister stated: “The Rakhine state of Myanmar is witnessing no development and the people living there suffer a lot of problems.

“So, we [Indian government] made an agreement with the Myanmar government to contribute as much as we can for developing the Rakhine state.”

The statement made by Narendra Modi had at least two contradictions to India’s official stance on the Rohingya issue. The first is using the term “Rohingya,” and the second is saying that Rohingyas have “returned” to Bangladesh.

Myanmar has made repeated claims that the Rohingya people are not native residents of Burma, and this minority group is comprised of Bangali Muslims who migrated from Bangladesh. Bangladesh, and the Rohingyas themselves, say they are residents of the Arakan region of Myanmar, now known as Rakhine.

Modi’s comment on Rohingyas returning to Bangladesh acknowledges Myanmar’s claims, which is also a direct contradiction of India’s present stance on the issue.

Officials of Indian External Affairs Ministry have denied making formal comments on Modi’s statement, despite repeated requests from the media.

A top official of the ministry, preferring to the anonymous, said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have suffered a slip of tongue. He could have meant that Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, instead of saying the Rohingyas returned. But this is just conjecture.”

The Indian prime minister’s comment has raised eyebrows in Bangladesh’s diplomatic arena as well.

Officials concerned are seeking a clear explanation on whether India’s stance on Rohingya issue has suddenly changed, or it is just an oversight from Narendra Modi.

The article was first published on banglatribune.com