Rohingyas
My attention is drawn to a report entitled “Rohingyas to be taken back if they claim to be Bengalis,” a report based on the announcement by Myanmar authorities at the recently held ASEAN summit (The Daily Star, 01 March 2009).
This is ridiculous and only a military regime like that of Myanmar could say so. This proposal should be rejected outright. Bangladesh should register a strong protest with regard to the attempt at labelling the Rohingyas as Bengalis.
This latest declaration by the Myanmar authorities means that the regime is not taking back the Rohingyas who are the persecuted ethnic Muslims from the western Rakhine state (formerly Arakan) of Myanmar bordering Bangladesh.
And the Myanmar authorities are now bluntly and openly trying to push back the responsibilities of the Rohingyas to the shoulder of Bangladesh.
The ASEAN nations and international communities as a whole should press the Myanmar authorities hard for stopping persecution against the Rohingyas (also on other ethnic groups), and taking those back who are out of their country. Also they should press for restoration of democracy at the top.
Bangladesh which has been hosting thousands of Rohingyas for decades should ask for a regional or international solution to the problem. Nothing could be gained from a bilateral approach that we are now looking for.
Bangladesh should also immediately take the initiative to register all the Myanmar nationals including the Rohingyas in the territory of our country. It should seek assistance from development partners and relevant UN agencies in this task.
I have been advocating for a national strategy for Bangladesh to deal with the Rohingya issue. There has been a dire need for a national legal framework to deal with the refugee issues including the Rohingyas. The latest development on the Rohingyas proves the necessity of the policy and legal framework once again.
Udatta Bikash, PhD, Freelance researcher, Dhaka
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