By Tanzim Anwar
DHAKA, Aug 25, 2020 (BSS) – Bangladesh’s diplomatic efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis are on right track as now entire world echoes with Dhaka that repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar people is the only solution of it, foreign minister Dr A K Abdul Momen said today.
“We’re making all sorts of strides what we could do in diplomacy … we want to solve the crisis though dialogues not involving in warfare (with Myanmar),” he told BSS while commenting on three-year-mark of the largest exodus of the Rohingyas into Bangladesh.
Momen said Dhaka has been engaged in bilateral, trilateral, multilateral as well as accountability and justice pathways to see light of the Rohingya crisis.
“We’re doing good, as we have earned total global support regarding safe return of Rohingyas,” he said.
The foreign minister, however, said the Rohingya repatriation process has been slowed down due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
“Apart from the pandemic, Myanmar is getting busy for its upcoming national election in November,” he said.
Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and other rights groups dubbed as “genocide”.
Even after putting all efforts, Momen said, the success is yet to visible as not a single Rohingya went back in last three years, “though, we are still hopeful about commencement of safe and voluntary repatriation … it takes time, but it will happen.”
Pointing out that some quarters instigate Dhaka to involve in warfare with Myanmar to resolve the crisis, he said, “(But) we don’t believe in war… it’s not even an option as war never brings sustainable solution, and more importantly, Bangladesh is a peace-loving country.”
After India’s election to the UN Security Council (UNSC) this year as a temporary member while Bangladesh extended its support to New Delhi in securing the status, the foreign minister said his Indian counterpart assured of cooperating Dhaka in resolving the Rohingya issue.
Momen said India assured that they would raise the Rohingya issue at UNSC and “they (India) will work with us to resolve the crisis” through ensuring safe and dignified return of the displaced people to their home of origin in Rakhine.
Describing the progress of the repatriation process, the minister said during the pandemic Bangladesh has sent a list of 600,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for validation.
He, however, said Myanmar authority so far validated only 30,000 out of the list. “Their validation process is too slow … it seems that they’ve no amicability (regarding the issue),” he said.
Ruling out the apprehension that Rohingya issue has been flattened by current “global vaccine diplomacy”, Momen said: “We keep the international attention over the issue alive every day … pressure (on Myanmar) is there,” he said.
Bilaterally, he said, Bangladesh has signed agreements with Myanmar where Nay Pyi Taw agreed to take back their people from Bangladesh. “We asked them to create conducive environment inside Rakhine to encourage Rohingyas in repatriating voluntarily,”
Bangladesh tried repatriation twice but failed as Rohingyas do not feel comfort in the prevailing condition, which cannot make them (Rohingyas) convinced of the sincerity of the Myanmar authorities and also the majority community – the Buddhists of Rakhine.
The foreign minister said: “Unfortunately, Myanmar yet to did anything … they have their own internal problem as well, but they are responding to us (to relive the crisis)”.
Apart from bilateral approach, he said, Bangladesh is also engaged in trilateral process involving China to resolve the crisis. “Some meetings have already been taken place between Bangladesh, Mynamar and China, and the process is on,” he said.
Besides, Momen said, Bangladesh took the issue to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court and extended support to Gambia, while the African nation brought the issue to International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague with support from OIC.
“The ICJ trial is a success story … the court gave an interim verdict that creates a huge pressure on Myanmar’s accountability,” he said.
In its landmark ruling on January 23 this year, the ICJ asked Myanmar to prevent acts of genocide, stop destroying evidence, and report back within four months, and then every six months after that.
As per the ICJ order, Myanmar submitted its first report to the UN court on May 23 on what it has done to protect the minority Rohingyas from genocide. The ICJ is yet to make it public.
Meanwhile, Dhaka welcomes resettlement idea of displaced Rohingyas to a group of countries as an alternative to transfer the Myanmar origin people to Bhashan Char, an island 37 miles off the mainland, where Bangladesh already invested hugely to accommodate one lakh of Rakhine exiles.
“If a group of countries can jointly offer to take over half a million Rohingyas in a time span of 1-2 years, we may consider examining it,” foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen said on Monday at a discussion.
The foreign secretary said the international community should make sincere and greater efforts to secure conditions for Rohingyas to return to Myanmar and reintegrate into Myanmar society, with a clear pathway to citizenship.
On the eve of the third anniversary of the crisis, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller has said international community must continue to press Myanmar to establish conditions to allow for safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh.
“This should continue to be a priority, in my view, even in the context of COVID, to prepare Rohingya for voluntary repatriation to Burma (Myanmar) once conditions allows,” he said.
Besides in a statement, the British High Commission here today termed Bangladesh’s generosity in hosting Rohingyas as ‘extraordinary’, pledging to continue pushing Myanmar for safe, voluntary and dignified return of the forcibly displaced people to their homes in Rakhine state.
“We’ll continue advocating for accountability on the part of Myanmar for crimes committed against the Rohingya population, and push for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingya people to their homes in Rakhine state,” read the statement.
The Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) partners — UN agencies and NGOs – working for Rohingyas have also lauded generosity of Bangladesh people for their humanitarian gesture and said they remain focused on meeting the critical needs of the Rohingya nationals and vulnerable Bangladeshi communities.