Editorial
Opportunity on the Rohingya issue
Bangladesh should utilise it
W Patrick Murphy, US special representative and policy coordinator for Myanmar who has been on a visit to Bangladesh has underscored the possibility of a solution to the Rohingya issue. He said that the ongoing political reform in Myanmar would usher in opportunities for Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya refugee issue.
His emphasis on the need for a durable solution to the root causes of violence against Rakhine population inside Myanmar, from where Muslim Rohingyas flee, couldn't have been more timely. His perception finds a responsive chord in us as Bangladesh is at the receiving end of Rohingyas fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
Already a sizeable number of refugees are encamped inside Bangladesh awaiting repatriation. Their numbers are growing. According to an unofficial estimate, the figure of Rohingyas refugees has increased exponentially. Bangladesh had been receiving Rohingyas fleeing Rakhine state but as far as the latest wave of fugitives were concerned, we have had to push them back to Myanmar. For a country with resource constraint, Bangladesh has to strike a balance between humanitarian concern and its abilities to host refugees.
We are fully sympathetic to the plight of the Muslim Rohingyas who have fallen victim to some kind of an ethnic cleansing, according to observers.
Bangladesh, for its part, is keen that the reasons for Rohingyas to flee their hearths and homes in the Rakhine state be addressed internally by the Myanmar government. At the same time, the stalled repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh should be resumed.
We are heartened to note that the US special representative considers it both as regional and international issue. From this standpoint, international pressures including that of UN and the west need to be brought to bear on the Rohingya question. Quite clearly, Myanmar will have to be persuaded to accept Rohingyas as their citizens.
Myanmar and Bangladesh have a lot to share by way of mutual cooperation in economic and infrastructure terms.
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