Dr Yunus proposes seven steps to solve Rohingya crisis

[Banglar Bir]

Dr Yunus proposes seven steps to solve Rohingya crisis
Tribune Desk
Published at 04:33 PM September 12, 2017
Last updated at 05:04 PM September 12, 2017

Yunus suggested that Myanmar government takes immediate action to solve the Rohingya crisis Wikimedia Commons
Yunus urged the Myanmar government to take seven steps to overcome the crisis
Nobel laureate and Bangladeshi economist Dr Muhammad Yunus has described the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state as “a human disaster.”

Yunus urged the Myanmar government to take seven steps to overcome the crisis. He asked also Myanmar to form “an implementation committee” to undertake the tasks.

Yunus made the suggestions in an article that was run by the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, The National.
Calling the state of the Rohingya “a human disaster,” he advised the Myanmar government to form the said committee to bring peace to the people.

As a preparatory step, Yunus suggested that Myanmar government immediately appoints members from the former United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan’s commission, Advisor Commission of Rakhine State (ACRS), in the committee, and give them following responsibilities:

1. Oversee the implementation of the ACRS recommendations.
2. Take immediate steps to halt the violence and stem the outflow of refugees.
3. Invite international observers vulnerable areas on a regular basis.
4. Create conditions for the return of refugees who have already left the country.
5. Build camps within Myanmar for the returning refugees to facilitate their rehabilitation with UN financing and supervision.
6. Grant citizenship to the Rohingya as prescribed in the ACRS report under the exclusive authority of the implementation committee.
7. Guarantee and uphold political freedoms and the freedom of movement for all citizens.

Regarding the report of Annan’s commission, Yunus said: “Annan’s report spells out in clear terms the corrective actions that must urgently be taken. They include provision of full citizenship to the Rohingya; freedom of movement, rights and equality before the law; communal representation [the lack of which affects the Muslims disproportionately]; and facilitating UN assistance to ensure the safety and security of the Rohingya refugees returning home.”

“The full and immediate implementation of the Annan commission’s recommendations will bring the crisis to a swift end,” he added.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...s-proposes-seven-steps-solve-rohingya-crisis/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Nobel laureate Yunus asks Suu Kyi to start peace process now
SAM Staff, September 13, 2017

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus has called upon Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to take “immediate steps” to halt the Rakhine State violence and stem the flow of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.

“The process of peacemaking must begin without delay,” he said in an article published in the Middle-East’s ‘The National’ newspaper.

Yunus who is often criticised for remaining silent on Bangladesh’s political issues, also put forward some ideas on how to start the peace process.

Those include implementation of the Kofi Annan commission report that asked Myanmar to give Rohignyas citizenship, and building camps within Myanmar for the returning refugees to facilitate their rehabilitation with UN financing and supervision.

The Bangladesh government had also proposed these measures since the beginning of the new wave of violence on Aug 25.

So far, according to the UN, nearly 400,000 Rohignya refugees have entered Bangladesh taking the total number of such stateless population living here for decades to 800,000.

Yunus asked fellow Nobel Peace prize-winner Suu Kyi to undertake a visit to the refugee camps in Bangladesh to address the terrified people living there.

“She should tell them that Myanmar is as much their home as it is hers. This single act of leadership will wash away all the suspicions and begin the process of healing,” he wrote.

“The new Myanmar that Aung San Suu Kyi says she wants to build cannot have any form of discrimination on any ground, be it ethnicity, religion, language or culture. The new Myanmar must be based on human rights and the rule of law.

“This is a moment in history when she has to choose a path for her nation and for herself – peace and friendship, or hatred and confrontation,” he said.

Yunus said the arguments that the Myanmar government is using to deny the Rohingya their citizenship are “ludicrous, to say the least”.

“Today’s Rakhine state was historically known as the Kingdom of Arakan. That kingdom at one time extended to include my district Chittagong in present-day Bangladesh.

“Much later, Arakan became a province of British India. History keeps drawing and redrawing borders. But people’s ties to their land remain unaltered. Whichever side gains possession of their land becomes their country,” continued Yunus.

“At independence from Britain in 1948, and under successive governments, Burma recognised the people of all ethnicities within its borders, including the Rohingya, as full citizens, with representation in parliament.

“It was the military juntas in 1980s who redefined Burmese identity to exclude the Rohingya.

“Accordingly, they stripped the Rohingya of their citizenship, and used military and political means to expel the Rohingya from the country. Thus began the systematic persecution aimed at ethnic and religious cleansing,” he wrote.

Earlier, he wrote an open letter to the United Nations Security Council on Sep 4, urging immediate action to halt military attacks on innocent civilians that are forcing them to leave their homes and flee their country.

The situation inside Myanmar has fuelled the rise of armed groups of Rohingya demanding “independence” for Arakan, he said.
SOURCE
BDNEWS24.COM
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/09/13/nobel-laureate-yunus-asks-suu-kyi-start-peace-process-now/

 

[Banglar Bir]

07:23 PM, September 13, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 09:51 PM, September 13, 2017
12 Nobel laureates including Yunus urge UN intervention to end Rohingya crisis

Dr Muhammad Yunus speaks during a panel discussion on rural development at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York. Photo: AP/files

Star Online Report
Twelve Nobel laureates including Dr Muhammad Yunus are among 27 international eminent personalities who have sent an open letter to the UN Security Council urging its intervention to end the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state of Myanmar.

In the letter, Yunus along with other dignitaries called on UNSC to take decisive actions to stop the violence against Rohingya Muslims and bring permanent peace in the Rakhine state.

“We call on UNSC to intervene immediately by using all available means. We request you to take immediate action for cessation of indiscriminate military attack on innocent civilians that is forcing them to leave their home and flee their country to turn into stateless people,” the letter said.
“This is one of the decisive moments when bold and decisive actions are needed promptly when it is still possible to get it resolved,” they said in the letter.

STOP ATROCITIES

Textbook case of ethnic cleansing
“We urge you to persuade Myanmar government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission which the Myanmar government established in 2016 under the pressure of international community.”

“The Commission, mostly comprised of Myanmar citizens, chaired by Kofi Annan, recommended providing citizenship to the Rohingyas, to allow them freedom of movement, rights and equality before the law, to ensure communal representation, lack of which affects Muslims disproportionately, to facilitate UN assistance in ensuring safety and security of returning people. The fear became reality through the attack on Myanmar security forces by the militants. Unless, constructive effort to build lasting peace is taken, the situation will get worse which in turn may pose serious security threat to the neighbouring countries.”
Here is the letter in full:
Rohingya Crisis is Deteriorating Very Fast
AN OPEN LETTER TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO INTERVENE TO END THE HUMAN CRISIS IN RAKHINE, MYANMAR

Dear President and Members of the Security Council,

Thank you for holding the UNSC meeting on Rohingya crisis most likely on September 13.

The human tragedy and crimes against humanity unfolding in the Arakan region of Myanmar need your immediate intervention. This is one of the decisive moments when bold and decisive actions are needed promptly when it is still possible to get it resolved.

According to different organizations, recent military offensive by the Myanmar Army in Rakhine State has led to the killing of hundreds of Rohingya people. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Complete villages have been burned, women raped, many civilians arbitrarily arrested, and children killed. Crucially, humanitarian aid organisations have been almost completely denied access, creating an appalling humanitarian crisis in an area already extremely poor. According to UN sources, around 300,000 people have fled to Bangladesh during the last two weeks. Human misery created by such massive displacement of men, women and children under the threat of death is getting worse every day.

Some of us denounced the previous spate of violence late last year and wrote to you to intervene. However, the situation has not improved. We urge you to take decisive actions to stop the violence against innocent civilians and bring permanent peace in Rakhine state.

We call on UNSC to intervene immediately by using all available means. We request you to take immediate action for cessation of indiscriminate military attack on innocent civilians that is forcing them to leave their home and flee country to turn into stateless people.

The arguments that the Myanmar government is using to deny Rohingyas their citizenship are ludicrous, to say the least. At independence of Burma from the British in 1948 and under successive governments, Burma recognized the people of all ethnicities within its border, including the Rohingyas, as full citizens, having representation in the parliament.

The military juntas in the 1980s decided that Rohingyas are not Burmese. Accordingly, they stripped the Rohingyas of their citizenship. They used military and political means to make sure that the Rohingyas leave the country. Systematic persecution aiming at ethnic and religious cleansing began.

We join the Secretary General of the United Nations in re-emphasizing that, "The grievances and unresolved plight of the Rohingya have festered for far too long and are becoming an undeniable factor in regional destabilization. The authorities in Myanmar must take determined action to put an end to this vicious cycle of violence and to provide security and assistance to all those in need.”

We urge you to persuade Myanmar government to take immediate steps to implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission which the Myanmar government established in 2016 under the pressure of international community. The Commission, mostly comprised of Myanmar citizens, chaired by Kofi Annan, recommended providing citizenship to the Rohingyas, to allow them freedom of movement, rights and equality before the law, to ensure communal representation, lack of which affects Muslims disproportionately, to facilitate UN assistance in ensuring safety and security of returning people. The fear became reality through the attack on Myanmar security forces by the militants. Unless, constructive effort to build lasting peace is taken, the situation will get worse which in turn may pose serious security threat to the neighbouring countries.

To implement the Commission recommendations we suggest the following preparatory steps:

1. Reappoint the Commission members immediately to constitute an Implementation Committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations,

2. Take immediate steps to stop the outflow of refugees,

3. Invite international observers to visit vulnerable areas on a regular basis,

4. Invite back the refugees who already left the country,

5. Build camps within Myanmar for the returning refugees to facilitate their rehabilitation with UN financing and supervision,

6. Give them the citizenship as prescribed in the Commission Report under the exclusive authority of the Implementation Committee and

7. Ensure political freedom and freedom of movement.

A bold change in approach is needed by United Nations and the international community if there is to be an end to the cycle of violence against the Rohingyas. The government of Myanmar needs to be told that international support and finance is conditional on a major change in policy towards the Rohingya. Propaganda and incitement of hatred and all violence, particularly state violence against Rohingyas must stop, discriminatory laws and policies must go, the recommendations of Kofi Annan's commission must be implemented immediately.

The world is anxiously waiting to see that UNSC is playing its role to bring end to a humanitarian catastrophe and build peace in the region.

Sincerely yours,
Professor Muhammad Yunus
2006 Nobel Peace Laureate

Máiread Maguire
1976 Nobel Peace Laureate

Betty Williams
1976 Nobel Peace Laureate

Archbishop Desmond Tutu
1984 Nobel Peace Laureate

Oscar Arias Sánchez
1987 Nobel Peace Laureate

Jody Williams
1997 Nobel Peace Laureate

Shirin Ebadi
2003 Nobel Peace Laureate

Leymah Gbowee
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

Tawakkol Karman
2011 Nobel Peace Laureate

Malala Yousafzai
2014 Nobel Peace Laureate

Sir Richard J. Roberts
1993 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Elizabeth Blackburn
2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine

Syed Hamid Albar
Former Malaysian Minister forForeign Affairs

Emma Bonino
Former Italian Foreign Minister

Sir Richard Branson
Business Leader and Philanthropist

Gro Harlem Brundtland
Former Prime Minister of Norway

Mo Ibrahim
Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

Kerry Kennedy
Human Rights Activist

Alaa Murabit
Voice of Libyan Women, SDG Advocate

Narayana Murthy
Business Leader

Kasit Piromya
Former Thai Foreign Minister

Surin Pitsuwan
Former Secretary-General of ASEAN

Paul Polman
Business Leader, SDG Advocate

Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland

Jeffrey D. Sachs
Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network

Forest Whitaker
Actor, SDG Advocate

Jochen Zeitz
Business Leader and Philanthropist
http://www.thedailystar.net/world/r...e-un-intervention-end-rohingya-crisis-1461601

 

[Banglar Bir]

Yunus Urges French President to address Rohingya Crisis
20TH SEPTEMBER, 2017

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus exchanging greetings with President Emmanuel Macron of France. They had a meeting on the sidelines of the Summit to launch of the Global Pact for the Environment to which Professor Yunus was invited to by Presiden...
Yunus Centre Press Release (20 September, 2017)

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus yesterday met French president Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of UN meetings urged him to play an active role as permanent member of the UN Security Council to bring pressure on the Myanmar government to end the Rohingya crisis. They met after the Head of Government Climate Meeting at the United Nation Head Quarter in New York where Professor Yunus was personally invited by President Macron.

Professor Yunus thanked President Macron for supporting Bangladesh in the Rohingya crisis and appealed to him to put full pressure on Myanmar to stop the ethnic cleansing and violence, return Rohingyas back to Myanmar and grant them full citizenship. Professor Yunus briefed Mr Macron about the terrible circumstances under which 400,000 Rohingya refugees mostly women and children have fled to Bangladesh in the past few weeks.

Mr Macron assured Professor Yunus that he is doing his best and would contunue to seek a solution. President Macron personally thanked Professor Yunus for successfully supporting the 2024 Paris Olympic Bid. Professor Yunus and President jointly made the presentation before the International Olympic committee in Lausanne for bringing Olympic to Paris. Paris has been chosen already for holding the Olympic 2024. It will be the first Social Business Olympic games in history in colaboration with Professor Yunus. He updated President Macron about the upcoming Global Social Business Summit scheduled to be held on Nov 6-7, 2017 in Paris and invited him again to address the summit. President Macron agreed to speak at the inauguration of the summit.

Earlier Professor Yunus spoke at the Forbes Philanthropy Forum which was also the centenary celebrations of Forbes magazine on the topic of ‘how to remove hurdles from women in participating in economic activities’. This occasion is being celebrated as the occasion to bring together 100 living greatest business minds at a gala. Professor Yunus is chosen as one of those 100 living greatest business minds in the world. He joined other greatest business minds headed by Warren Buffet.

Professor Yunus is currently in New York to attend high level meetings at the United Nations, a celebration of Grameen America's tenth anniversary and to participate at a book tour of his new book "A World of Three Zeros"
http://socialbusinesspedia.com/news...s-french-president-to-address-rohingya-crisis

 

[bluesky]

“Annan’s report spells out in clear terms the corrective actions that must urgently be taken. They include provision of full citizenship to the Rohingya; freedom of movement, rights and equality before the law; communal representation [the lack of which affects the Muslims disproportionately]; and facilitating UN assistance to ensure the safety and security of the Rohingya refugees returning home.”

Better the Rohingyas and the world including BD and MM accept the recommendation forwarded by Kofi Annan written above. Yunus model itself will have no influence on the outcome of UN discussions on Rohingyas.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Hasina places six-point proposal to end Rohingya crisis
Special Correspondent

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon OIC countries to show a unity to solve the Rohingya crisis before it is too late, and placed six-point proposal to this end.

The prime minister said this in an OIC Contact Group Meeting on Rohingyas at UNGA headquarters in New York in the sideline of the 72nd UN General Assembly with OIC Secretary General Dr Yousef Al Othaimeen in the chair on Tuesday.

Mentioning that the crisis has its root in Myanmar and its solution has to be found in Myanmar, Hasina said, “The plights of our Muslim brothers and sisters need to be stopped as well”.
The Prime Minister mentioned that now the Muslim brothers and sisters in Myanmar face ‘ethnic cleansing’ and the ongoing military operations by the Myanmar authorities have created havoc in the Rakhine State.

She mentioned the torture has caused the largest exodus of Rohingyas of all time and over 400,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh through land and river since August 25 and 60 percent of them are children.

“It’s an unbearable human catastrophe. I myself have visited them and listened to the stories of their grave sufferings, particularly of women and children.”

Hasina invited the leaders of OIC member states to visit Bangladesh and hear the stories of the Rohingyas how they fled the persecution in Myanmar.
The Bangladesh Prime Minister placed six-point proposals before the OIC members to end the crisis:
1. All forms of atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims must be stopped immediately.
2. ‘Safe zones’ should be created inside Myanmar to protect the innocent civilians, especially women, children and elderly.
3. All forcibly displaced Rohingyas must be able to return to their homeland in Myanmar in safety, security and dignity,
4. The recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission will have to be implemented immediately and unconditionally in its entirety.
5. Myanmar must stop the state-sponsored propaganda to identify Rohingyas as ‘Bangalees’.
6. The Muslim brotherly countries should help Bangladesh with urgent humanitarian assistance till the Rohingyas return to Myanmar. OIC countries should show a unity to solve the crisis.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh had already been hosting another 400,000 Rohingyas for the last three decades. “So, altogether we’re hosting about 800,000 Rohingyas in Bangladesh now. Despite space and resource constraints, we’re providing them with shelter, food and other emergency services.”
The Prime Minister brushed aside the Myanmar claim that the Rohingyas are ‘illegal immigrants from Bangladesh’, and asserted that all the historical records suggest that the Rohingyas have been living in Rakhine State for centuries.

“Myanmar is forcibly driving out the Rohingya Muslims through a planned and organised process. First, they have been excluded from the list of recognised ethnic group of Myanmar. Then in 1982, they were denied their right to citizenship. Later, they were sent to IDP camps in their own country.”
Hasina said Bangladesh has continued its diplomatic efforts to repatriate all the Rohingyas to their homeland. “But, Myanmar is not responding to our calls.”

The Prime Minister informed the OIC members that they might have also seen in the media that Myanmar is planting landmines along their stretch of the border to stop return of Rohingyas to their homeland.
Caption: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina places six-point proposals to end Rohingya crisis in the OIC Contact Group Meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=3&date=0#Tid=14755

 

[Banglar Bir]

UN wants measures to address Rohingya crisis
Special Correspondent

The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres renewed his call to Myanmar to take steps to address the Rohingya crisis as the number of Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh surpassed 400,000, with UN agencies are scaling up their efforts to assist the displaced people .

‘We’re all shocked by the dramatic escalation of sectarian tensions in Myanmar’s Rakhine state,’ Guterres said in his address to the opening of the General Assembly’s high-level debate.
‘A vicious cycle of persecution, discrimination, radicalisation and violent repression has led more than 400,000 desperate people to flee, putting regional stability at risk,’ he was quoted as saying in a news release of the UN News Centre on Wednesday.

He stressed that the authorities in Myanmar must end the military operations, allow unhindered humanitarian access and recognise the right of refugees to return with safety and dignity.
They must also address the grievances of the Rohingya, whose status has been left unresolved for far too long, he added.

Marzuki Darusman, the chairperson of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that it is clear that there is a ‘grave humanitarian crisis’ underway that requires urgent attention.

In addition to the over 400,000 people who have sought refuge in Bangladesh since 25 August, Darusman noted that there are reports that nearly 200 Rohingya villages in the affected areas have been emptied.

‘It’s important for us to see with our own eyes the sites of these alleged violations and abuses and to speak directly with the affected people and with the authorities,’ he stated, noting that the Commission has requested the government of Myanmar for unfettered access to the country.

As the number of those crossing the border into Bangladesh increases, the UN refugee agency is ramping up its operations, including moving new arrivals into family tents and temporary communal shelters at a new extension site next to the Kutupalong camp near Cox’s Bazar.

Spokesperson Duniya Aslam Khan told a news conference in Geneva that refugees have told UNHCR staff that they suffered from cold and rain during their treks from Myanmar.

‘Many had fallen ill, particularly small children. There is urgent need for more latrines, not least to reduce risks of a spread of disease with so many people living in close quarters. Many also complained of hunger and said they had eaten little on their journeys, which took up to 10 days on foot,’ she stated.

With an estimated 415,000 refugees having arrived since late August, the humanitarian challenges have become immense, according to UNHCR, which noted the ‘remarkable generosity’ by many individual Bangladeshis, with people trucking food and clothes to the refugees in the camps and others camping along the single main road.

However, the government needs more support, and UNHCR will be issuing an appeal this week for the emergency humanitarian response in Bangladesh till the end of year.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) is providing critical support to step up health services delivery in Cox’s Bazar.

‘Vulnerable populations require access to health services, including emergency and basic health care. Access for women to reproductive health services is especially important,’ noted Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia.

The agency added in a news release that poor nutrition, communicable diseases (including vaccine-preventable and water-borne diseases), injuries and other concerns such as mental health provide immense public health challenges that the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health, WHO and other health partners are working to address.

The secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, said her office has been closely monitoring reports of sexual violence committed during the insurgency operations. She is particularly concerned about the security of women and girls who constitute the majority of those crossing the border.

‘More than half of the Rohingya women interviewed in early 2017 in a refugee camp in Bangladesh reported experiencing rape or other forms of sexual violence, but due to the acute social stigma, such cases are significantly under-reported,’ said a statement issued by the Special Representative.
Interviews with victims and witnesses indicate ‘disturbing patterns’ of rape, gang rape and other forms of sexual violence, such as invasive body searches.

‘Survivors have described sexual violence being used as a calculated tool of terror to force targeted populations to flee. They describe the perpetrators as mainly members of the military, with the police and Rakhine villagers also identified, in some cases,’ the statement added.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=3&date=0#Tid=14755

 

[idune]

So basically Hasina copied Dr. Yunus proposals to submit hers. While Dr. Yunus is leading the diplomacy, ruling awami league regime doing nothing constructive or result oriented following its master (indian) instruction. In the mean time, illegal regime is afraid of national unity, deployed known propaganda mouthpieces.

 

[Zabaniyah]

Better the Rohingyas and the world including BD and MM accept the recommendation forwarded by Kofi Annan written above. Yunus model itself will have no influence on the outcome of UN discussions on Rohingyas.

I would disagree on that. The timing was just right too.

 

[bluesky]

Hasina places six-point proposal to end Rohingya crisis

Why this BAL party loves its so many 6-point programs? It is always devastating to the country. Whenever this Hasina is in power the country has floods and cyclones, and now Rohingya refugees. For Rohingya solution this Hasina is forwarding again another six-point proposal.