Bangladesh will have to remain incessantly engaged bilaterally, regionally and globally to resolve the complex and protracted Rohingya crisis despite the lack of progress over the past few years, experts told a roundtable on Sunday.
Failure to resolve the crisis quickly will have consequences of multiple dimensions, including radicalism. This will affect not only Bangladesh, but also the region and will have global implications, they said, expressing concern over Rohingyas crossing into Bangladesh from neighbouring India.
The speakers also said that Dhaka should revisit its foreign and defence policies backed by credible military deterrence in dealing with the Myanmar regime.
They also placed great emphasis on convincing the world actors, especially the United States, to get more involved in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis through the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who sheltered in Cox’s Bazar to escape the genocidal crackdown perpetrated by the Myanmar security forces and their local Buddhist accomplices.
Migration expert Asif Muniar speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneThe experts were deliberating at a roundtable on “Revisiting the Rohingya Crisis: What Lies Ahead?” at a local hotel. As part of a series of discussions on important national and international issues, leading English daily Dhaka Tribune and Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) jointly organized the roundtable.
BIPSS Senior Fellow Shafqat Munir moderated the roundtable that was attended by academia, local and foreign diplomats, former and serving government officials, journalists, and university students.
Air Vice Marshal (RETD) Mahmud Hussain, distinguished expert of BSMRAAU, speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneAsif Munier, national expert on migration and displacement, and Air Vice Marshal (retd) Mahmud Hussain, distinguished expert at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Aviation and Aerospace University, spoke at the event as panellists.
Keep youths engaged
Migration expert Asif Munier said Rohingya men, particularly those in their teens and 20’s, were vulnerable to terrorism and criminality as they had nothing to do right now.
The Rohingya youth may join the terrorist outfits due to fear or pressure, and engaging them in different activities is important, he said.
Shafqat Munir, senior fellow of BIPSS, speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneMunier also pointed out to the prevailing tension between host communities and the Rohingyas due to some social and security issues and the tension within the camps.
He noted the absence of credible leadership and representation after the assassination of Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah.
Detailing all the aspects of the crisis, including the funding by the international community, Munier said, “Bangladesh will have to make its case. Bangladesh will have to create its case all the time.”
We must speak the right language
“Our intent is a safe repatriation or accept them (Rohingyas) as refugees,” said Air Vice Marshal (retd) Hussain, shedding light on the issue from the geopolitical perspective where Myanmar is supported by China and Russia while US and the west are in favour of a resolution to the crisis.
“Everybody works in their interests,” he added.
Palestinian Ambassador to Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneAbout dealing with the Myanmar junta, he said: “Military powers are lenient if you speak in their language – military language. In Myanmar, military is the state. We have to get the right states onboard.”
The US will have to be convinced that its Indo-Pacific Strategy will be jeopardized in 10-15 years if the Rohingya crisis is not solved, he added.
About Rogingyas crossing into Bangladesh from India, Hussain, also Bangladesh’s former ambassador to Brunei, said that the actions of the country’s first neighbor had “symptoms of communalism”.
Under India’s citizenship law, persecuted religious minorities from neighbouring countries can be citizens of India but Rohingyas cannot because they are Muslims, he elaborated.
Diplomacy backed by military deterrence
“Bangladesh wants voluntary repatriation of the Rohingyas. It’s an important issue. It’s a complex issue,” said Shafqat Munir, initiating the discussion.
“Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh from India…Another dimension of the complexity of the crisis,” he said.
Brig Gen Manzur Kader speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune“Bangladesh needs to revisit its foreign and security policy,” said Munir, calling for a defence policy with minimum deterrence.
“Our diplomacy must be backed by credible military deterrence,” he said, adding, “There are many issues that are needed to be sorted out at our end like better coordination among the government agencies, early warning and greater understanding of Myanmar.”
During a question-and-answer session, former Army chief and minister Lieutenant General (retd) Nuruddin Khan said: “In 1991, we were in much better position to win over the military of Myanmar.”
“There is no other way but to fight it out,” he added.
Palestinian Ambassador to Bangladesh Yousef SY Ramadan said, “We have something common with the Rohingyas. There is no free lunch. They (the international community) are not going to solve your problem. We have been listening for 74 years…Maybe another 74 years.”
Ambassador Shamim Ahmed speaking at the event Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneThe international community works in their own interests, not in the interests of the Rohingyas or Bangladesh, he said.
“I was born as a refugee, may die as a refugee. The same thing can happen to the Rohingyas and Bangladesh if you depend on others,” said the envoy.
Lieutenant General (retd) Zahirul Alam said that sending so many people to Bangladesh was like a war on the country.
“We have to negotiate with them (Myanmar junta) militarily. We have to covertly negotiate with them,” he said.
“We have to tell them: we are nice, but we have plan B,” he added.
