Bangadesh finds violence in bordering Myanmar Rakhine state 'disturbing', promises help
Senior Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 2016-10-16 19:30:01.0 BdST Updated: 2016-10-16 19:30:01.0 BdST
Police forces prepare to patrol in Maungdaw township at Rakhine state, northeast Myanmar, Oct 12, 2016. Reuters
Bangladesh has condemned the recent violence in the bordering Rakhine state, describing it as “disturbing” and has promised to assist Myanmar in this “time of need”.
The foreign ministry on Sunday said it had taken note of the “coordinated attacks” on the Border Guard Police posts in Rakhine state on Oct 10 and the clashes that followed.
“We are concerned at the loss of innocent lives in these clashes. We underscore the need for arresting perpetrators and for due judicial process to bring them to justice,” it said in a statement.
Myanmar officials have said hundreds of men - some armed with automatic weapons and others with sticks and swords - launched coordinated assaults against three border posts in the early hours of Oct 9, killing nine police officers and wounding five.
In response, the military has poured troops into northern Rakhine state to search for attackers, who made off with dozens of weapons and more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition.
The state is known as the home of the minority Muslim group Rohingya, who have been denied citizenship by successive governments in Myanmar.
The 1.1 million Rohingya living in Rakhine state have faced discrimination, severe restrictions on their movements and access to services, especially since the inter-communal violence in 2012 that displaced 125,000 people.
The Rohingya are not among the 135 ethnic groups officially recognised in Myanmar, where many in the Buddhist majority regard them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
This issue is also holding back progress in bilateral relations between the two neighbours, with Myanmar refusing to take back thousands of Rohingya who took shelter in Bangladesh after fleeing sectarian violence in Rakhine state.
With Aung San Suu Kyi’s assumption of power, Bangladesh resorted to public diplomacy to strengthen ties with Myanmar, keeping aside the Rohingya refugee issue.
“Bangladesh finds the recent attacks and clashes in bordering Rakhine state disturbing and unequivocally condemns the attacks on Myanmar forces,” the foreign ministry said in its statement.
“Bangladesh as a responsible neighbour on its own sealed the borders with Myanmar in the early hours of Oct 10 to deny the perpetrators easy escape.
“Bangladesh also apprehended two Muslims of Rakhine state and handed them over to the authorities of Myanmar within a day.
“The Bangladesh authorities are in constant touch with their Myanmar counterparts and providing help as requested,” the foreign ministry said.
“Bangladesh follows a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards violent extremism and terrorism of any form and manifestation.
“Bangladesh conducted a number of operations against Arakan Army and other ethnic armed groups originating from Myanmar in recent times to help Myanmar.
“Bangladesh returned two Tatmadaw members rescued from Arakan army captivity last year,” read the statement. “Bangladesh will continue to assist Myanmar in this time of need.”
The foreign ministry said Bangladesh believed that “cooperation in these areas could be best realized under legal framework which Bangladesh has been stressing over two years.”
“Such institutionalized cooperation is needed to comprehensively address all aspects of insecurity, from drug to human trafficking to gun running to civil commotion and internal disturbances to insurgency.”
