Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing - Updates & Discussions

[Banglar Bir]

Thousands of new Rohingya refugees flee violence, hunger in Myanmar to Bangladesh
13:24 October 16, 2017
Reuters Agency

Rohingya Muslims fled from oppression
Hungry, destitute and scared, thousands of new Rohingya refugees crossed the border into Bangladesh from Myanmar early on Monday, Reuters witnesses said, fleeing hunger and attacks by Buddhist mobs that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

Wading through waist-deep water with children strapped to their sides, the refugees told Reuters they had walked through bushes and forded monsoon-swollen streams for days.

A seemingly never-ending flow entered Bangladesh near the village of Palongkhali. Many were injured, with the elderly carried on makeshift stretchers, while women balanced household items, such as pots, rice sacks and clothing, on their heads.

"We couldn't step out of the house for the last month because the military were looting people," said Mohammad Shoaib, 29, who wore a yellow vest and balanced jute bags of food and aluminium pots on a bamboo pole. "They started firing on the village. So we escaped into another.

"Day by day, things kept getting worse, so we started moving towards Bangladesh. Before we left, I went back near my village to see my house, and the entire village was burnt down," Shoaib added

00:58 dk10 Ekim 2017Yeni Şafak
Bangladesh camps teeming with thousands of unaccompanied Rohingya children
Since Aug. 25, more than a half million Rohingya Muslims have crossed from the Rakhine State of Myanmar into Bangladesh due to the ongoing violence of the Myanmar army.

Rohingya children also had to take shelter in the country, thousands of them without their families. The refugees in the camps try to take care of them.

They joined about 536,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar since Aug. 25, when coordinated Rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response, with the fleeing people accusing security forces of arson, killings and rape.

Myanmar rejects accusations of ethnic cleansing and has labelled the militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army who launched the attacks as terrorists, who have killed civilians and burnt villages.

Not everyone made it to Bangladesh alive on Monday.

Several kilometres (miles) to the south of Palongkhali, a boat carrying scores of refugees sank at dawn, killing at least 12 and leaving 35 missing. There were 21 survivors, Bangladesh authorities said.

"So far 12 bodies, including six children and four women, have been recovered," said police official Moinuddin Khan.

Bangladesh border guards told Reuters the boat sank because it was overloaded with refugees, who pay exorbitant fees to cross the Naf River, which forms a natural border with Myanmar in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh.

The sinking came about a week after another boat capsized in the estuary on the river, which has become a graveyard for dozens of Muslim refugees.

'Rohingya want to see peacekeepers' says UN source
A UN human rights spokesman on Friday told Anadolu Agency Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar wanted to see a peacekeeping force protecting them.
Rupert Colville said there was "an obvious need for the international community, whether it is the UN Security Council, an individual state or so on, to absolutely find a way out of this situation, and the only possible solution is that the Rohingya are allowed to go back home.”
He also said there should be a political and security response to violence Myanmar: "In order to be safe, Rohingya refugees would like to see peacekeeping operation.""The international community needs to deal with that.
This is a very, very serious situation.
You cannot let an entire population be ethnically cleansed into neighboring countries," Colville added."Clearly, there should be international action.

Interestingly, some of the refugees do highlight they would like to have full citizenship and safety to return to Rakhine state [in Myanmar]," he said.
So far, the UN has not considered sending a peacekeeping force to Myanmar to end the violence, despite numerous reports saying attacks on Rohingya Muslims have been a concerted, well-organized campaign explicitly meant to push them out of the country into Bangladesh and block their return.

The humanitarian operations of some of UN agencies, including UNICEF, have been halted in northern Rakhine state because of the violence and security concerns.The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.

According to UN, landmines were planted after Aug. 25 on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh in order to prevent the Rohingya population from returning.
The refugees are fleeing a military operation in Myanmar which has seen security forces and Buddhist mobs killing men, women and children, looting homes, and torching Rohingya villages.
Since Aug. 25, when the military launched a crackdown against Rohingya, 536,000 people crossed from Rakhine state into Bangladesh, according to the UN.It is "the largest and speediest" movement of a civilian population in Asia since the 1970s, the UN said.
FOOD, AID RESTRICTED
Refugees who survived the perilous journey said they were driven out by hunger because food markets in Myanmar's western Rakhine State have been shut and aid deliveries restricted. They also reported attacks by the military and Rakhine Buddhist mobs.

The influx will worsen the unprecedented humanitarian emergency unfolding in Cox's Bazar, where aid workers are battling to provide refugees with food, clean water and shelter.

On Monday, the Red Cross opened a field hospital as big as two football fields, with 60 beds, three wards, an operating theatre, a delivery suite with maternity ward and a psychosocial support unit.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya had already been in Bangladesh after fleeing previous spasms of violence in Myanmar, where they have long been denied citizenship and faced curbs on their movements and access to basic services.

The United States and the European Union are considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar's military leaders, officials have told Reuters.

EU foreign ministers will discuss Myanmar on Monday, and their draft joint statement said the bloc "will suspend invitations to the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar/Burma armed forces and other senior military officers".

The powerful army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, told the United States ambassador in Myanmar last week that the exodus of Rohingya, whom he called non-native "Bengalis", was exaggerated.

But despite Myanmar's denials and assurances that aid was on its way to the north of violence-torn Rakhine State, thousands more starving people were desperate to leave.

"We fled from our home because we had nothing to eat in my village," said Jarhni Ahlong, a 28-year-old Rohingya man from the southern region of Buthidaung, who had been stranded on the Myanmar side of the Naf for a week, waiting to cross.

From the thousands gathered there awaiting an opportunity to escape, about 400 paid roughly $50 each to flee on nine or 10 boats on Monday morning, he added.
"I think if we go to Bangladesh we can get food," he said.
http://www.yenisafak.com/en/dunya/t...lence-hunger-in-myanmar-to-bangladesh-2795976

 

[Banglar Bir]

‘Rohingya want to see peacekeepers’ says UN source
www.thestateless.com/2017/10/rohingya-want-to-see-peacekeepers-says-un-source.html

UN human rights spokesman says refugees from violence in Myanmar demand protection
By Fatih Erel / AA
GENEVA: A UN human rights spokesman on Friday told Anadolu Agency Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar wanted to see a peacekeeping force protecting them.

Rupert Colville said there was “an obvious need for the international community, whether it is the UN Security Council, an individual state or so on, to absolutely find a way out of this situation, and the only possible solution is that the Rohingya are allowed to go back home.”

He also said there should be a political and security response to violence Myanmar: “In order to be safe, Rohingya refugees would like to see peacekeeping operation.”

“The international community needs to deal with that. This is a very, very serious situation. You cannot let an entire population be ethnically cleansed into neighboring countries,” Colville added.

“Clearly, there should be international action. Interestingly, some of the refugees do highlight they would like to have full citizenship and safety to return to Rakhine state [in Myanmar],” he said.

So far, the UN has not considered sending a peacekeeping force to Myanmar to end the violence, despite numerous reports saying attacks on Rohingya Muslims have been a concerted, well-organized campaign explicitly meant to push them out of the country into Bangladesh and block their return.

The humanitarian operations of some of UN agencies, including UNICEF, have been halted in northern Rakhine state because of the violence and security concerns.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings — including of infants and young children — brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.

According to UN, landmines were planted after Aug. 25 on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh in order to prevent the Rohingya population from returning.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in Myanmar which has seen security forces and Buddhist mobs killing men, women and children, looting homes, and torching Rohingya villages.

 

[tarpitz]

RIP Bengalis.
Your text books are telling the truth.

http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...-appears-endorse-myanmar-propaganda-rohingya/
@Aung Zaya @Kutuzov

 

[Banglar Bir]

11:48 AM, October 17, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 11:58 AM, October 17, 2017
‘New satellite images confirm mass destruction in Myanmar’
288 villages, tens of thousands of structures torched, says Human Rights Watch

Complete destruction of Rohingya villages in close proximity to intact Rakhine village, Maungdaw township, recorded on 21 September 2017. Photo courtesy: 2017 Human Rights Watch
Star Online Report
At least 288 villages were partially or totally destroyed by fire in northern Rakhine State of Myanmar since August 25, 2017, according to new satellite images released by Human Rights Watch.
Read More: New satellite imagery shows 214 villages of Rohingyas almost totally destroyed in Rakhine
The destruction encompassed tens of thousands of structures, primarily homes inhabited by ethnic Rohingya Muslims, the rights body said in a press release issued today.

Analysis of the satellite imagery indicates both that the burnings focused on Rohingya villages and took place after Myanmar officials claimed security force “clearance operations” had ceased, Human Rights Watch said.

“These latest satellite images show why over half a million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in just four weeks,” Human Rights Watch reports quoting its Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson.

“The Burmese military destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages while committing killings, rapes, and other crimes against humanity that forced Rohingya to flee for their lives,” Robertson adds.

The imagery pinpoints multiple areas where destroyed Rohingya villages sat adjacent to intact ethnic Rakhine villages. It also shows that at least 66 villages were burned after September 5, when security force operations supposedly ended, according to a September 18 speech by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Myanmar military responded to attacks on August 25 by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) with a campaign of ethnic cleansing, prompting more than 530,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

A total of 866 villages in Maungdaw, Rathedaung, and Buthidaung townships in Rakhine State were monitored and analyzed by Human Rights Watch. The most damage occurred in Maungdaw Township, accounting for approximately 90 percent of the areas where destruction happened from August 25 to September 25. Approximately 62 percent of all villages in the township were either partially or completely destroyed, and southern areas of the township were particularly hard hit, with approximately 90 percent of the villages devastated.
In many places, satellite imagery showed multiple areas on fire, burning simultaneously over wide areas for extended periods.

Human Rights Watch found that the damage patterns are consistent with fire. Comparing recent imagery with those taken prior to the date of the attacks, analysis showed that most of the damaged villages were 90 to 100 percent destroyed.

Many villages which had both Rohingya and Rakhine residing in segregated communities, such as Inn Din and Ywet Hnyo Taung, suffered heavy arson damage from arson attacks, with known Rohingya areas burned to the ground while known Rakhine areas were left intact.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all

 

[Banglar Bir]

http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...-appears-endorse-myanmar-propaganda-rohingya/
@Aung Zaya @Kutuzov

Yes,as most of our School text books were edited and printed in india by the RAWami BAL Government,hence these intentional gross errors were incorporated. Now the real truth,as per Western media:
Fight the lie with the truth
Forrest Cookson, October 10, 2017

Nothing short of crimes against humanity. Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
The truth about Myanmar must be told, 10,000 times

10 years, the government of Myanmar has committed genocide against the Rohingya people. This is not a complicated issue, it is a straightforward instance of one religion, Buddhism, abusing and killing members of another, Islam.

It is a remarkable act of bravado; Buddhism is the one major religion that, the Pew survey is reporting, is declining in number of members, whereas Islam, already with many more members, is gaining conversions faster than any other religious faith. The Muslim world is far more powerful than the Buddhist.

The nation that bears the immediate cost of Myanmar’s actions is Bangladesh. In a previous article “The great lie,” I estimated that with another 600,000 Rohingya likely to cross the border in 2017, there will be a total of more than one million refugees here in Bangladesh.
The great lie
To maintain these refugees at a minimum level of economic welfare is going to cost $200 million per year.

Myanmar is waging war against Bangladesh. Exporting a tremendous economic and security burden.

The previous article argued that Bangladesh should bring a legal case against the leaders of Myanmar, accusing and proving them guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. The objective should be to see them jailed for life.

This will take a long time, as the strength of the international judicial system is still weak. This legal approach is important but it is not enough. The great lie must be fought with truth telling.

The resources of China and Russia are lined up against Bangladesh on this to say nothing of Thailand and India.

But this is still not enough. The presence of a large number of desperate refugees is also a threat to national security. If the refugees do turn in their frustration to an extreme view of Islam, it will be dangerous for Bangladesh.
No turning back
The first task is to settle these people in refugee camps, to insure that there is a secular school system put in place and to find ways to put the refugees to work.

The school system should be built on the best teachers one can find among the refugees [who should receive a salary for their work].

Text books in the Rohingya language can be prepared and used. The refugees should contribute to their upkeep.
It is very unlikely that the Myanmar government will ever accept them back.

The leaders are cruel, desperate individuals who have failed their nation. Planning for the refugees must be realistic and should assume that there is no returning them.

What is a sensible program? First, to tackle all the major countries of the world and get them to accept some of these refugees. Perhaps in a period of five years it might be possible to get half of them resettled.

But to do so several things are going to be necessary. During the interim period, the children must be schooled, careful security rules must be in place to ensure that the authorities have blocked infiltration by Muslim fundamentalists preaching violence, and the population must contribute to their own upkeep.

These are difficult objectives but it is likely that there will be support from Islamic countries and perhaps the Western nations.

It is the North American and European states that have to be persuaded to accept some of the refugees, so it is important to prepare along the lines that they want. Some Islamic states will probably also agree to take some of the refugees.

Such actions will be opposed by China, India, and Russia. But this will ultimately be achieved to their disadvantage. Bangladesh should stand for its own interests and openly tout the fact that these nations are supporting genocide.
Myanmar cannot be trusted
Another tricky area is relations with Myanmar. There is no doubt that the actions of the Myanmar government are equivalent to an act of war. Sending one million persons across the border is a clear attempt to harm and destabilise Bangladesh. It cannot go unanswered.

Myanmar cannot be trusted. The Bangladesh army should be deployed along the border, the readiness level of the divisions upgraded with additional manpower, equipment, war fighting ammunition stocks, and a clear policy to push back against any violation of the border.

This should include shooting down any Myanmar helicopter that comes into Bangladesh airspace, shooting back at any Myanmar security force-shooting into Bangladesh, and actively helping refugees being abused within one mile of the border on the Myanmar side.

The prime minister has worked to build up the armed forces; these can now be used to protect the country against this aggression.

The Bangladesh Border Guard does not have the weapons to present a plausible deterrent to Myanmar army.

The development of genocide and crimes against humanity must be systematically argued and presented. With the UN General Assembly just past us,this is the time to put forth the strong case against Myanmar.

This is the time to fight the spreading of the great lie. This is the time to force the rest of the world to recognise what has been done here and to demand that they stand with Bangladesh.

We can expect the Russians and the Chinese to stand strongly with Myanmar and to propagate the great lie. But most nations will see this for what it is and support Bangladesh.

To fight the great lie, the truth must be told 10,000 times. An active public relations policy should be followed to achieve this.

It is particularly urgent for the Bangladesh government to take control of the support for the refugees and do a superior job.
In the hand of the government
At present, most of the work is being done by Islamic organisations. Bangladesh is a secular state where Islam is the dominant, important religion. Hence the management of the Rohingya welfare, education, and financing must be in the hands of the government.

Assistance from NGOs or religious groups should be allowed only with well defined rules.

No time should be wasted in gaining control of the refugee situation.

Left unattended, the refugee crisis is going to become increasingly difficult as it will be the target for recruitment by violent Islamic groups.

The western countries will refuse to take any refugees and there will be continuing trouble from criminal activities.

The nation may be stuck with all of these refugees indefinitely.

One issue that is very difficult is the question of the ARSA, the Arakan Salvation Army. Should covert support to this group be provided in return for guidance and partial control? I do not know the answer to this, but it needs to be considered by the Bangladesh security leaders.

Bangladesh’s security, economic stability, and religious equilibrium depend on the government playing a strong hand, gaining control of the management of the refugees, defending the border, and publicly arguing the case for crimes against humanity and genocide.

It is no surprise that China and Russia are supporting Myanmar and trumpeting the great lie. These nations have never had a moral particle in their political stances, both have killed millions of their own citizens to further maintaining power.

But it is shameful that India is taking the side of Myanmar and putting forth the great lie. India will try to manipulate the PM to agree with their side. But India will never succeed in this.

Her strong upholding of the secular state while understanding the central importance of Islam will protect Bangladesh from those proclaiming the great lie.
Forrest Cookson is an American economist.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/10/10/fight-lie-truth/

SINGAPORE-affiliated former Myanmar Cabinet member spreading FAKE NEWS.

By Dr Maung Zarni
October 16, 2017
Visiting Fellow at Singapore's Institute of South East Asian Studies & Ex-Cabinet Member from Thein Sein Gov, spread fakes news about Rohingyas, possibly coordinating with Irrawaddy Burmese Editors.
Ye Htut, ex-Colonel and a son of the late Myanmar Police Chief, is caught spreading Fake News, which typically frames Rohingyas as "terrorist" issue.

Ye Htut's Burmese language caption reads:
"In Bangladesh the (Muslim) fundamentalists and extremists held demonstrations demanding that Rohingyas be armed.

Now the (Bangladesh) border guards unit at a refugee camp lost their weapons to the looters."
This is based on Irrawaddy Burmese Language News (see the two additional JPEG along with the first item by Ye Htut).

Irrawaddy has emerged as a major platform for spreading genocidal racism and hatred against the Rohingyas.

Its editors - Aung Zaw, Kyaw Zwa Moe, and Ye Ni - have been mis-characterizing, Rohingyas as an Islamic threat to Burma's "national security" based on dubious intelligence sources.

Irrawaddy's stance is influenced by both their anti-Rohingya racism and Bertil Linter's anti-Rohingya racist writings in Asia Times, blowing the security concerns out of proportions.

Just yesterday a Thai-American academic named Thitanan Pongsudhirak from Chula University in Bangkok peddles the same racist lie in Singapore's mouthpiece The Straits Times.
See my scathing rebuttal to this academic whore's despicable racism, falsely accusing the wretched of my country as "terror" threat.
http://www.maungzarni.net/2017/10/zarnis-open-letter-to-thitinan.html
Framing of Rohingyas as "Islamic terrorism" has been proven non-credible by Bangladeshi senior officials including the Foreign Secretary, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and Pacific Affairs Eric Schwartz and most recently in Facetime Live by Human Rights Watch Myanmar researcher.
Here is Eric Schwartz in his own words:

"... the idea that insurgency is the route of the problem in Rakhine State is nonsense.
This is not insurgency. There are parts of Burma where there are insurgent issues. This is not an insurgency-driven conflict. This is a pretext that the military has given us, by all evidence."
the idea that insurgency is the route of the problem in Rakhine State is nonsense.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/can-stop-extreme-violence-rohingya-muslims/
Myanmar: The Invention of Rohingya Extremists
Joseph Allchin, The New York Review of Books, 2 October 2017
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/10/02/myanmar-the-invention-of-rohingya-extremists/
Bangladesh foreign secretary: No sign of radicalisation among the Rohingya, 8 October 2017
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/2017/10/08/no-sign-radicalisation-rohingya/

http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2017/10/singapore-

Starved out of Myanmar: hunger drives thousands more Rohingya to flee
In Bangladesh, new arrivals from Myanmar said closure of food markets across Rakhine state and restrictions on aid had driven them over the border

Rohingya people arrive on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf river after crossing the border from Myanmar, in Palang Khali. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters
Global development is supported by

Reuters
Monday 16 October 2017 11.57 BST Last modified on Monday 16 October 2017 13.33 BST

Hungry, destitute and scared, thousands of new Rohingya refugees crossed the border into Bangladesh from Myanmar early on Monday, fleeing violence and hunger that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

The new arrivals said they were driven out by hunger because food markets in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state had been shut down and aid deliveries restricted. They also reported attacks by the military and Rakhine Buddhist mobs. Wading through waste-deep water with children strapped to their sides, the Rohingya said they had walked for days through bushes and monsoon-swollen streams from Myanmar’s Buthidaung region before reaching the border.

A seemingly never-ending line of people entered Bangladesh near the village of Palang Khali. Many were injured, with the elderly lying on makeshift stretchers, and women balancing family belongings – pots, rice sacks, clothing – on their heads.

“We couldn’t step out of the house for the last month because the military were looting people. They started firing on the village. So we escaped into another village,” said Mohammad Shoaib, 29, who was balancing his jute bags, filled with some food and aluminium pots, on a bamboo pole.

“Day by day things kept getting worse, so we started moving towards Bangladesh. Before we left, I went back near my village to see my house, and the entire village was burned down,” Shoaib said.

They walked to join an estimated 536,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar since 25 August, when coordinated Rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response, with fleeing people accusing security forces of arson, killings and rape.

Myanmar rejects accusations of ethnic cleansing and has labelled the militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, who launched the initial attacks, as terrorists who have killed civilians and burned down villages.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were already in Bangladesh after fleeing previous episodes of violence in Myanmar, where they have long been denied citizenship and faced restrictions on their movements and access to basic services.

Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has pledged accountability for human rights abuses and says the country will accept back refugees who can prove they were residents of Myanmar.

The US and the EU have been considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s military leaders, diplomats and officials said, although they are wary of action that could destabilise the country’s transition to democracy.

EU foreign ministers were due to discuss Myanmar on Monday, and their draft joint statement said the bloc would “suspend invitations to the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar/Burma armed forces and other senior military officers”.

The powerful army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, told the US ambassador in Myanmar last week that the exodus of Rohingya, who he said were non-native “Bengalis”, was exaggerated.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-...ousands-more-rohingya-into-bangladesh-myanmar

 

[tarpitz]

Yes,as most of our School text books were edited and printed in india by the RAWami BAL Government,hence these intentional gross errors were incorporated.

[emoji23] [emoji23]
Text books are printed in India? Again pointing to India?You have already ruined the Bangladesh Defence Forum by posting groundless propaganda dream shopping list.
But you cannot ruin the history.
Your school children know the history better than the adult monkeys.
So instead of ruining the forum you better go to school and learn the history from your text books.
[emoji1] [emoji23] [emoji1] [emoji23] [emoji1] [emoji23]

 

[Banglar Bir]

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[Banglar Bir]

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/photo-g...ed-from-oppression-in-myanmar-2024465/?page=2
Rohingya Muslims fled from oppression in Myanmar
Hundreds of Rohingyas cross land and sea borders daily to reach Bangladesh, paying 36 USD each to hire a boat to cross the borders. As the number of boats ferrying Rohingyas from Myanmar increase in the day and night hours, Bangladeshi forces try to bring the boats into order on the shore.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Russia promises Bangladesh that the Rohingya issue will be seen in new light
Tribune Desk
Published at 05:41 PM October 17, 2017

Rohingya refugees walk by night after crossing the border from Myanmar, on the Bangladeshi shores of the Naf river in Teknaf on September 29, 2017. More than half a million Rohingya Muslims have poured into Bangladesh in the last month, fleeing a vicious Myanmar military crackdown on Rohingya rebels that has gutted villages across northern Rakhine state. Scores have drowned while trying to cross waters separating the two countries, while those who survive face new dangers as they cram into squalid refugee settlements where food and clean water are in short supply AFP
The Rohingya issue came to the fore in the discussion, on the backdrop of the overnight inclusion of Rohingya crisis as the “sole emergency item” in the agenda of the assembly on Monday
Russia is likely to give higher importance to the Rohngya issue in its foreign policy in the coming days.

Senator Konstantin Kusachev, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russian Upper House, made the assurance while exchanging views with a Bangladesh delegation during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 137th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which is now being held at Russia’s St Petersburg, according to a press release from the Foreign Affairs Ministry Tuesday.

The Rohingya issue came to the fore in the discussion, on the backdrop of the overnight inclusion of Rohingya crisis as the “sole emergency item” in the agenda of the assembly on Monday. The proposal was placed at the assembly by the Bangladesh delegation.

Deputy Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament Md Fazle Rabbi Miah and the Chief Whip ASM Feroze represented the Bangladesh side while Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russian Upper House Senator Konstantin Kosachev and Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of State Duma Andrei Klimov were on the Russian side during the meeting, held at 12 on Monday.

In the meeting, the Chief Whip invited Kosachev to visit Bangladesh to see the situation in person to overcome their misconceptions as a result of the false propaganda carried out by the Myanmar Government.

Kosachev ensured that this issue will get higher importance in Russian foreign affairs agenda in the coming days.

The Chief Whip cleared out the misconception of the Russian side that the Rohingya people illegally crossed border from Bangladesh to Myanmar to stay in the Rakhine state in the past, and that religious rivalry was the root cause of the crisis in Rakhine.

He explained in detail the history of the attachment of the Rohingya people to the land of Rakhine state since the Mughal empire.

He chronicled the development of multi-ethnicity in the Burmese land since it was harnessed to the British empire in 1828.

The delegation was accompanied by the Bangladesh Ambassador to the Russian Federation Dr Saiful Hoque and Counsellor (Political) of the Embassy Dr Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...angladesh-rohingya-issue-will-seen-new-light/

 

[Banglar Bir]

EURO-BURMA OFFICE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
HARN YAWNGHWE:
SUU KYI IS NOT POWERLESS
Why did you criticize Aung San Suu Kyi through an open letter?
I became increasingly concerned about her autocratic style of government but still tried to facilitate the peace process with the ethnic armies.

When my visa was denied, it became clear that she does not appreciate my work and does not want me to continue to be involved. That was fine. But when the Rohingya issue exploded, I had to speak out.
What did you expect from Suu Kyi following your open letter?
I did not really expect her to read the letter or respond positively. She is not known for her humility. She will be very angry that I have dared to criticize her in public. But she needs to know that there are limits to what can be tolerated. I did not support her to become a dictator or a queen.
Why made you stand up for the Rohingya?
You cannot allow innocent people to be killed just because they happen to belong to a certain ethnicity or religion.That is totally wrong. There can be no justification.
I also do not agree with the decades of discrimination against the Rohingya people practiced by past military regimes.

Some people view Suu Kyi as not having a firm stance in addressing the Rohingya situation.
She is definitely not powerless. That is a myth. She knew the legal limitations before she took power. Knowing the limitations situations, she took the job because she believed she could make a difference. She is not doing anything regarding the Rohingya, because she does not want to.
How should Suu Kyi position herself?
The people of Myanmar are overwhelmingly Buddhists. Buddha taught compassion and tolerance. She could have used Buddhist values to control racial hatred and religious bigotry. Most people would have listened to her and moderated their positions. Even the military would not go against that because they too want to be popular and loved by the people.
Will the military truly relinquish its power?
As mentioned earlier, nobody expect-ed the military to give up power easily. But from holding 100 percent of the power, they retained 25 percent and was willing to experiment with democracy.The military does not think highly of civilian politicians. They think they are corrupt and self-serving. But (Suu Kyi) being who she is, the military decided to give her a chance. The military want-ed to prove that even without their intervention, Suu Kyi and a civilian government are not capable of governing the country. Their calculation seems to becoming true.
Are you planning to return to Myanmar and help solve the Rohingya crisis?
The Myanmar government does not want me to be involved in the Rohingya crisis. They say the Rohingya do not exist. I say they have existed for centuries.I have also seen old National ID cards identifying the holder as Rohingya. Government school textbooks also describe the Rohingya people as one of the peoples of Myanmar.
The 1947 Constitution says that all people (except those who opt to leave) within (the country’s boundaries) at independence in 1948 are citizens. General Ne Win changed the citizenship laws in 1982 to strip the Ro-hinya of their citizenship
OCTOBER 15, 2017

Recommended Documents
Documents About Myanmar

 

[Banglar Bir]

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[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, October 18, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:49 AM, October 18, 2017
The realities of Rohingya refugees - What do we do next?

In the last few days I had the opportunity to visit the Rohingya camps in Ukhia near the Myanmar border to observe the conditions of the refugees as well as the environment of the area. I will share some very preliminary observations on the situation. Photo: Reuters
Saleemul Huq
In the last few days I had the opportunity to visit the Rohingya camps in Ukhia near the Myanmar border to observe the conditions of the refugees as well as the environment of the area. I will share some very preliminary observations on the situation.

The first is of course the overwhelming destitution of the refugees who have been forced to cross the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh with nothing but the clothes on their backs (and sometimes not even that).

Although the initial influx into Bangladesh of hundreds of thousands of these refugees caught everyone unawares and there was an element of chaos on our side of the border, since then the army has been deployed and there is now a semblance of order, with a number of camps being set up to house, feed and provide medical assistance to them. The circumstances are still dire, but at least there is some order.

It is certainly to the credit of the government and the people of Bangladesh that we have responded to this humanitarian crisis with humanity and a sense of solidarity with the incoming refugees. The support of the various UN agencies and other international allies and NGOs should also be acknowledged as a crisis of such magnitude cannot be shouldered by the government alone.

My second observation was the demographic make-up of the refugee population, somewhat unprecedented in that they consist overwhelmingly of small children, sometimes with their mothers but many being orphans. The number of pregnant young women was large and there were relatively few young men.

This fact presents a particular challenge for us: To cater to both the medical and educational needs of these babies, children and young women.

The third observation is the effect that the refugees and their camps are having on the environment of the area. Already, the forest department has allocated several thousand acres of forest land to set up the many camps (which are still being set up). The trees in that area have been totally decimated and even some wildlife has been affected as there are elephant trails in the vicinity (several refugees have been trampled by elephants).

While the immediate humanitarian assistance is paramount, some attention needs to be given to the environmental impact as the demand for dwellings and firewood for cooking will put a lot of pressure on the surrounding forest area.

Hence, we need to start thinking about how to deal with the problem in the longer term.

The immediate political and diplomatic efforts should, quite rightly, focus on persuading Myanmar to repatriate the refugees. However, any realistic assessment will tell us that we may not succeed in sending all of them back even with the most optimistic diplomatic scenario.

Therefore, we need to think of some long-term solutions to deal with this additional population in our country. This is indeed a highly complex problem with humanitarian, political, law and order, security, development and environmental concerns, all of which need to be taken into account. Nor do these problems have simple solutions.

I do not claim to have any solutions to this mega-problem for Bangladesh, but would like to share a few thoughts.

The first conundrum to tackle is regarding where to house the refugees. In other words, should they be kept in confinement in camps or should they be allowed to disperse in the country? At the moment, the policy of the government seems to favour the former and locations are being made ready to transfer them from the camps they are in now.

However, confining refugees into camps for long periods of time has in the past (all over the world) proved to cause many more problems over time than they are supposed to solve in the short-term. Even though it is politically a very difficult choice for the government, it would be wise to think about allowing them to be resettled in different parts of Bangladesh.

The second aspect that I feel must be a basis for prioritising our support to them is the fact that so many of them are babies and young children. This means that we need to accept responsibility for their upbringing and make sure that they are educated.

There is genuine fear that they will resort to criminal behaviour and this situation is more likely to come true if they are neglected rather than educated.

Finally, as the prime minister has quite rightly said, if we can feed 160 million Bangladeshis then we can share our food with another million Rohingyas. But we need to extend this pledge beyond simply feeding them to helping them develop over time. It will certainly be a burden for a poor country like Bangladesh, but it would be the right thing for us to do.

Saleemul Huq is Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University, Bangladesh.
Email: Saleem.icccad@iub.edu.bd
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion...-rohingya-refugees-what-do-we-do-next-1477822

12:00 AM, October 18, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:52 AM, October 18, 2017
Urgent need for fund, aid
UN seeks world response to meet Rohingyas' life-saving needs; new satellite images show 288 Rakhine villages destroyed

A sick Rohingya refugee woman is carried by two men after crossing the Naf River near the no man's land on the Bangladesh side of the border with Myanmar. Border guards told them they were not allowed to leave the area and reach the refugee camps near Ukhia of Cox's Bazar yesterday. Over half a million Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since late August, the UN said, warning that thousands more were still stranded at the border. Photo: AFP
Diplomatic Correspondent

Amid fresh waves of Rohingya influx, the UN has urged the international community to come together to support the October 23 pledging conference to meet the life-saving needs of the displaced Myanmar nationals and to promote their safe return home.

Three UN-led aid bodies have appealed for $434 million over six months (Sept 2017 to Feb 2018) to help up to 1.2 million people, including some 400,000 Rohingyas already in Bangladesh before the latest crisis began in late August.

But to date, available funding and uncommitted pledges amount to roughly $100 million, according to a document of the pledging conference.

Two neighbouring countries -- India and China who are among Myanmar's closest allies -- are not in the list of financial contribution.

Diplomatic sources in Dhaka told The Daily Star yesterday the UN needed to prepare a “massive” funding request to manage the Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh as the number was rising every day and there was no sign of any repatriation in near future.

The UN yesterday reported that an estimated 582,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since violence erupted in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state on August 25.

Meanwhile, the UN refugee agency yesterday called on Bangladesh to speed up vetting of up to 15,000 Rohingya refugees “stranded” near the border after crossing into the country from Myanmar and move them further inland to safer and better conditions, reports Reuters.

Reports of the fresh influx comes as latest satellite images of the HRW show at least 288 villages have been partially or fully destroyed by fire in Rakhine since August 25. At least 66 villages were burned after September 5, when security force operations supposedly ended.

The pledging conference would be held in Geneva on Monday to “send a strong message to Rohingya refugees and their generous hosts in Bangladesh that the world is there for them in their greatest time of need,” said a statement by the heads of three UN aid bodies -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Mark Lowcock and Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration (OIM) William Lacy Swing.

The ministerial-level pledging conference will be co-hosted by the European Union and the government of Kuwait, and co-organised by the UNHCR, IOM and OCHA.

The four objectives of the conference is to mobilise urgent resources to provide life-saving humanitarian aid; demonstrate solidarity with Bangladesh; promote all international and humanitarian laws for the refugees; and to promote safe, voluntary and sustainable return of the refugees to the place of origin, the statement said.

“We call on the international community to intensify efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the plight of the Rohingya, to end the desperate exodus, to support host communities and ensure the conditions that will allow for refugees' eventual voluntary return in safety and dignity,” it added.

The speed and the scale of the influx made it "the world's fastest growing refugee crisis and a major humanitarian emergency," the joint statement noted. “The origins and, thus, the solutions to this crisis lie in Myanmar.”

According to UN and government officials, the flow is the largest refugee movement in the region in decades and brings the total number of Rohingya living in Cox's Bazar to over one million with the numbers still growing.

“We have been moved by the welcome and generosity shown by the local communities towards the refugees,” the joint statement said, while noting their respective agencies have been working in overdrive with the Bangladesh government, local charities, volunteers and nongovernment organisations to provide assistance.

"The efforts must be scaled up and expanded to receive and protect refugees and ensure they are provided with basic shelter and acceptable living conditions," the statement said adding, “Every day more vulnerable people arrive with very little, if anything, and settle either in overcrowded existing camps or extremely congested makeshift sites."

'EVERY MINUTE COUNTS'
The UN refugee agency is concerned about the humanitarian condition of thousands of new arrivals who are stranded near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

UNHCR Spokesperson Andrej Mahecic yesterday told reporters in Geneva that an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh through the Anjuman Para border crossing point in Ukhia since Sunday night.

As of yesterday morning, they were still squatting in the paddy fields of Anjuman Para village in Bangladesh.

They are waiting for permission from Bangladesh authorities to move away from the border, where the sound of gunfire continues to be heard every night from the Myanmar side.

The UNHCR has urged the Bangladesh authorities to urgently admit these refugees fleeing violence and increasingly-difficult conditions back home.

“Every minute counts given the fragile condition they're arriving in,” Reuters quoted the spokesperson as saying.

The delay was due to screening by Bangladesh border guards, he said, emphasising this was the right of any government.

He said the UNHCR and its partners, Bangladesh Red Crescent and Action against Hunger, are delivering food and water to the stranded refugees, among them children, women and the elderly who are dehydrated and hungry from the long journey.

“Many say they had initially chosen to remain in their homes in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state despite repeated threats to leave or be killed. They finally fled when their villages were set on fire,” Andrej Mahecic said.

MASS DESTRUCTION
Releasing the latest satellite images, the Human Rights Watch yesterday said its analysis indicated that the burnings focused on Rohingya villages and many of those took place after Burmese officials claimed that their “clearance operations” had ceased.

The imagery pinpoints multiple areas where destroyed Rohingya villages sat adjacent to intact ethnic Rakhine villages.

“These latest satellite images show why over half a million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in just four weeks,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director.

“The Burmese military destroyed hundreds of Rohingya villages while committing killings, rapes, and other crimes against humanity that forced Rohingya to flee for their lives.”

A total of 866 villages in Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Buthidaung in Rakhine were monitored and analysed by the HRW.

Most of the damage occurred in Maungdaw Township, accounting for about 90 percent of the areas where destruction happened between August 25 and September 25.

Comparing recent imagery with those taken prior to the date of the attacks, analysis showed that most of the damaged villages were 90 to 100 percent destroyed.

Many villages which had both Rohingya and Rakhine residing in segregated communities, such as Inn Din and Ywet Hnyo Taung, suffered heavy arson damage from arson attacks, with known Rohingya areas burned to the ground while known Rakhine areas
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/mayanmar-rohingya-refugee-crisis-urgent-need-fund-aid-1477909

 

[Banglar Bir]

The world takes notice
Tribune Editorial
Published at 07:42 PM October 17, 2017
REUTERS
World governments and international bodies need to impose tougher sanctions on Myanmar to stop its operations immediately
Finally.
The World Bank and the European Union have, at last, stepped up and taken measures to try and compel Myanmar to stop its clearance operations in the Rakhine state.

Although the decision comes more than three weeks after Myanmar’s military began its onslaught against the Rohingya in full-force — other measures of aggression and persecution had started even earlier — it is still good to see that influential bodies are finally taking notice.

Up until now, the Myanmar army had been perpetrating crimes against humanity without any tangible repercussions or intervention by the international community, thus giving them a sense of impunity.
But by halting its $200 million development loan to Myanmar, the World Bank is finally playing an active role in bringing an end to the crisis, and thus living up to its own values of non-discrimination and social inclusion.

The EU also announced that it is suspending invitations to Myanmar’s military leaders and reviewing all practical military cooperation with the country.

This is the kind of global action that we have been calling for since the atrocities came to light, but it is not enough; world governments and international bodies need to impose tougher sanctions on Myanmar to stop its operations immediately.

Nevertheless, we commend the World Bank and the EU for taking the lead and, hopefully, showing others the way.

This is how the global community should work in times of crisis, especially when the crisis is an attack on the universal principles of human rights.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/2017/10/17/world-takes-notice/

10:24 AM, October 18, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 10:42 AM, October 18, 2017
Myanmar army killed hundreds of Rohingyas: Amnesty

Myanmar security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International said in a new report yesterday that calls for an arms embargo on the country and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. Newly arrived Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, rest on embankments after spending a night in the open as they have been prevented from moving ahead towards refugee camps by Bangladesh border guard soldiers at Palong Khali, Bangladesh, Tuesday, October 17, 2017. Photo: AP
AP, Bangkok
Myanmar security forces killed hundreds of men, women and children during a systematic campaign to expel Rohingya Muslims, Amnesty International said in a new report yesterday that calls for an arms embargo on the country and criminal prosecution of the perpetrators.

More than 580,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, when Myanmar security forces began a scorched-earth campaign against Rohingya villages. Myanmar’s government has said it was responding to attacks by Muslim insurgents, but the United Nations and others have said the response was disproportionate.
READ more: Urgent need for fund, aid
The continuing exodus of Rohingya Muslims has become a major humanitarian crisis and sparked international condemnation of Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which still denies atrocities are taking place.

Based on interviews with more than 120 fleeing Rohingya, Amnesty International said at least hundreds of people were killed by security forces who surrounded villages, shot fleeing inhabitants and then set buildings alight, burning to death the elderly, sick and disabled who were unable to flee.

In some villages, women and girls were raped or subjected to other sexual violence, according to the report.
Also READ: UN shelved hunger report on Rohingyas
The witnesses repeatedly described an insignia on their attackers’ uniforms that matched one worn by troops from Myanmar’s Western Command, Amnesty International said.

When shown various insignia used by Myanmar’s army, witnesses consistently picked out the Western Command patch, it said.

The 33rd Light Infantry Division and border police, who wear a distinctive blue camouflage uniform, were also frequently involved in attacks on villages, along with Buddhist vigilante mobs, witnesses said.

Matthew Wells, an Amnesty crisis researcher who spent several weeks at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, said the rights group plans to issue another report in the coming months examining individual criminal responsibility, including specific commanders and others that may be involved in abuses.
READ more; In the shadow of violence
He said hundreds of Rohingya have been treated for gunshot wounds and doctors say that the injuries are consistent with people being shot from behind as they fled.

There were credible indications that a total of several hundred people had been killed in just five villages that were the focus of Amnesty’s reporting. Wells said that given that dozens of villages across northern Rakhine State have been targeted in a similar fashion, the death toll could be much higher.

He said satellite imagery, corroborated by witness accounts, show that Rohingya homes and mosques have been burned entirely in villages, while non-Rohingya areas just one or two hundred yards (meters) away were untouched.

“It speaks to how organized, how seemingly well-planned this scorched-earth campaign has been by the Myanmar military and how determined the effort has been to drive the Rohingya population out of the country,” Wells said.

Among almost two dozen recommendations, the human rights group called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and financial sanctions against senior officials responsible for violations that Amnesty says meet the criteria for crimes against humanity.

It said the council should explore options for bringing the perpetrators to justice under international law if Myanmar authorities do not act swiftly.

“It is time for the international community to move beyond public outcry and take action to end the campaign of violence that has driven more than half the Rohingya population out of Myanmar,” Amnesty said.

Witnesses and a drone video shot Monday by the UN refugee agency show that Rohingya are continuing to flee persecution in Myanmar and crossing into Bangladesh.

The video showed thousands upon thousands of Rohingya trudging along a narrow strip of land alongside what appears to a rain-swollen creek in the Palong Khali area in southern Bangladesh. The line of refugees stretches for a few kilometers (miles).

The new wave of refugees started crossing the border over the weekend, witnesses said. An Associated Press photographer saw thousands of newcomers near one border crossing Tuesday. Several said that they were stopped by Bangladeshi border guards and spent the night in muddy rice fields.

Nearly 60 percent of the refugees are children. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, warned Tuesday that without immediate additional funding, it will not be able to continue providing life-saving aid and protection to Rohingya children. UNICEF said it has received just 7 percent of the $76 million it needs.

On August 25, a Rohingya insurgent group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked at least 30 security posts causing dozens of casualties, according to Myanmar authorities. The brutal attacks against Rohingya that followed have been described by the UN as “textbook ethnic cleansing.”

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has denied citizenship for the Rohingya since 1982 and excludes them from the 135 ethnic groups officially recognized, which effectively renders them stateless. They have long faced discrimination and persecution with many Buddhists in Myanmar calling them “Bengalis” and saying they migrated illegally from Bangladesh, even though they have lived in the country for generations.
http://www.thedailystar.net/rohingy...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all

 

[Banglar Bir]

Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh seeks greater Indian role, warns ‘fire may engulf entire region’
SAM Report, October 18, 2017

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali Collected
Bangladesh today pitched for a greater Indian role in containing the influx of Rohingya Muslims escaping violence in Myanmar, saying the issue may not be directly affecting India now, but it may have an impact in future.

Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali said the “fire in the neighbourhood” has the potential to engulf the entire region and it would be prudent for India to act in “mutual interest”.

“It is a fire in our neighbourhood and before it engulfs in the entire region it needs to be put out. They (the refugees) are vulnerable to all sorts of radicalisation and it is in our mutual advantage to work together,” Mr Ali told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Indian capital.

Responding to a question, he said New Delhi and Dhaka may not appear on the same page on the issue as Myanmar’s Rakhine State, the epicentre of the refugee exodus, does not have a common border with India.

“You are safe for now but how long will that be? It is in our common interest to act together. It may burn my house today, but it may surely have an impact in your house tomorrow,” he said, while applauding India’s role in sending relief for the refugees housed in a number of camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar area.

He refused to comment on India’s proposal to deport around 40,000 Rohingya refugees who are settled in camps across the country, saying it was a “matter of your country”.

However, he reminded that “60 per cent” of the refugees who have crossed over to Bangladesh were women, children and elderly and living in “unacceptable conditions”.

He called the Rakhine State a breeding ground of radicalisation owing to alleged atrocities on the Rohingya community and their festering anger.

He suggested that reports of bodies of Hindu Rohingya people found in mass graves were an attempt by the Myanmar administration to “intentionally” drive a wedge between communities.

“It is the inability of the Myanmarese authorities to recognise them (the Rohingya) as their own which is creating issues. The problem originated in Myanmar and needs to be resolved there,” he said.

Referring to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s upcoming visit to Dhaka, Mr Ali said water sharing is one of the very few areas of common interest between the two countries which remains contentious.

“The sooner we resolve the issue the better,” he said.

In an oblique reference to West Bengal’s position on the issue that during the lean season water availability in Teesta river was not enough to share, he said: “It is like a person calling himself orphan after killing his own parents.”
SOURCE PTI
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/1...ian-role-warns-fire-may-engulf-entire-region/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Rohingya crisis may emerge as security issue, warns Bangladesh
SAM Staff, October 15, 2017

Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque on Saturday said the Rohingya crisis might become a security issue in the region and Bangladesh is now in offensive mood diplomatically engaging internationally to find a peaceful solution to the problem as early as possible.

“We will continue to build pressure (on Myanmar). We are going everywhere. We are going to all countries (you mentioned),” he told a dialogue on Rohingya issue at a city hotel mentioning that Bangladesh is no way in defensive mood diplomatically.

Cosmos Foundation arranged the dialogue on “Domestic, Regional and International Dimensions of the Rohingya Issue: Dealing with a Man-made Crisis” to highlight the issue and offer some solutions to the crisis.

The Foreign Secretary said Bangladesh is doing whatever is possible to find a solution to the crisis which lies within Myanmar.

“We have a very articulated policy,” Foreign Secretary Haque said adding that they are intensifying diplomatic efforts through multilateral and international forums and international bodies.

The Foreign Secretary said the Rohingya issue is a multidimensional and multilayered one having over five dimensions.

Explaining how Rohingya issue might become a security issue, Haque said, “It was basically a humanitarian movement. Subsequently, it became a border issue and it might become a security issue.”

“We are not denying that there is no potential to become a security issue,” he emphasised.

The Foreign Secretary said Bangladesh is looking into all the options to find the solution.

Earlier, other speakers laid emphasis on intensifying diplomatic efforts through multilateral and international forums to end the crisis.

They sought steps to set up a seperate desk at the Foreign Ministry to deal with Russia, China and India on Rohingya issue.

A foreign ministry official said Bangladesh is soon sending a special envoy to China and Russia to further discuss the Rohingya issue.

A panel of experts, including CR Abrar of Dhaka University, Major General (retd.) ANM Muniruzzaman of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, Shahedul Anam Khan of The Daily Star and former IOM official Asif Munier took part in the dialogue.

The workshop was chaired by Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, a former foreign affairs adviser to the caretaker government and principal research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) in Singapore.

Cosmos Foundation chairman Enayetullah Khan delivered welcome speech.
Smarter Dealing Needed
CR Abrar said, “We have to be really smart in dealing with it (Rohingya issue).”

Talking about international community’s role, he said the world has come a long way and “If we fail to act, it’s a shame on us. It’s a collective shame. Not for Bangladesh alone but a shame for entire world.”

The international affairs expert laid emphasis on thinking well about relocation plan of Rohingyas to an Island.

He laid emphasis on evaluating whether the island is habitable at all.

Munirurz zaman said Bangladesh has to be extremely smart to deal with matter and play better game as other players are smarter than us and better players.

He also highlighted security concerns that might emerge over the Rohingya issue, including regional and domestic concerns.
SOURCE UNB
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/1...ay-emerge-as-security-issue-warns-bangladesh/