[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

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Top Asean officials meet Myanmar junta chief for ‘cooperation’ talks

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thedailynewnation.com

Top Asean officials meet Myanmar junta chief for 'cooperation' talks
17 May 2024, 12:00 am

AFP :

Myanmar's military chief has held talks with top Asean officials on the junta's participation in the Southeast Asian regional bloc, from which it has been isolated since the 2021 coup, state media reported Thursday The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to solve the conflict unleashed by the military's putsch, which has displaced 2.7 million people, according to the United Nations.

Myanmar is still a member of Asean, but the generals have been excluded from top-level bloc meetings over their refusal to engage in a peace plan and with their opponents. Army chief Min Aung Hlaing met Asean special envoy Alounkeo Kittikhoun and secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn on Wednesday in the capital Naypyidaw, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.

They "exchanged views on the issues of Myanmar's cooperation in Asean," the state-owned newspaper reported.

They also "discussed the best cooperation of Myanmar in Asean, the conditions of Myanmar's participation in Asean meetings" and the junta's plan to hold fresh elections, the newspaper said.

The Myanmar crisis has divided Asean — long derided by critics as a toothless talking shop.

Indonesian, Malaysia and the Philippines have called for tougher action against the junta, while Thailand has held its own bilateral talks with the generals as well as detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last year, officials from Indonesia held talks with a shadow "National Unity Government" that is dominated by lawmakers ousted in the coup and which the junta has designated a "terrorist" organisation.

In January, the junta sent a senior bureaucrat to an Asean foreign ministers meet in Laos — the first time the country attended a high-level meeting of the bloc in more than two years.

More than 5,000 people have been killed and more than 26,000 arrested in the military's crackdown on dissent since the coup according to a local monitoring group.

The coup ended a short-lived experiment with democracy and plunged the Southeast Asian nation into turmoil.

Across swathes of the country, the junta is battling established ethnic minority armed groups as well as pro-democracy "People's Defence Forces."​

 

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Myanmar ethnic armed group claims control of western town

A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group on Saturday claimed its fighters had seized control of a town in western Rakhine state, in what would be...

www.newagebd.net

Myanmar ethnic armed group claims control of western town
Agence France-Presse . Bangkok 19 May, 2024, 00:36

A Myanmar soldier. | AFP file photo

A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group on Saturday claimed its fighters had seized control of a town in western Rakhine state, in what would be another blow to the junta.

Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the 2021 military coup.

AA fighters have seized territory, including along the border with India and Bangladesh, piling further pressure on the junta as it battles opponents elsewhere across the Southeast Asian country.

'We seized all bases of the Myanmar Army in Buthidaung,' in northern Rakhine state, the AA said on its Telegram channel on Saturday.

Those seized included a 'military strategic headquarters', it added, without giving details.

Its fighters were still clashing with junta troops outside the town, it said.

Buthidaung sits around 90 kilometres north of state capital Sittwe, which is still held by the military.

Earlier this month, the AA said it had taken hundreds of junta personnel prisoner following an assault on a command near the Buthidaung.

A junta spokesman has been approached for comment.

Communication with Rakhine is extremely difficult, with most mobile networks down.

The AA is one of several armed ethnic minority groups in Myanmar's border regions, many of whom have battled the military since independence from Britain in 1948 over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

The AA claims to be fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine population.

Fighting had spread to 15 of Rakhine state's 17 townships since November, the UN's human rights chief said last month.

Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded and more than 3,00,000 displaced, it said.

Clashes between the AA and the military in 2019 roiled the region and displaced around 2,00,000 people.

The military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya minority there in 2017 which is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case.​

 

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Rohingya expats in Saudi Arabia: How long to bear this liability?

Learn about the ongoing discussion between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia regarding the renewal of passports for Rohingya expatriates in Saudi Arabia and the implications of this decision on both countries.

en.prothomalo.com

Rohingya expats in Saudi Arabia: How long to bear this liability?
Editorial Desk
Published: 18 May 2024, 15: 21

As reported in the media, Bangladesh at the request of the Saudi Arabia government has agreed to renew the passports of 69,000 Rohingya community members living in Saudi Arabia.

These Rohingyas had moved to Saudi Arabia many years ago with Bangladeshi passports. During his recent visit to Dhaka, deputy interior minister of Saudi Arabia Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood discussed the matter with home minister Asaduzzaman Khan. Earlier, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had also been signed between the two countries.

Following his meeting, the home minister said that Saudi Arabia has sought to know about the progress of the passport renewal efforts for the Rohingyas who went to the country with Bangladeshi passports.

Saudi Arabia has promised that they would not send the Rohingya expatriates back to Bangladesh even after their passports have been renewed. Their passports need to be renewed for them to be able to stay in Saudi Arabia, he had added.

Notably, Rohingya migrants who fled from Myanmar towards the end of 70s moved to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh and Pakistan. While the Pakistan government sent them with travel documents, the Bangladesh government had directly given them passports.

That's why the country has been pressurising Bangladesh to renew the passports. The Bangladesh government has also agreed to renew the passports of the Rohingyas considering the interest of the Bangladeshi expatriates living in Saudi Arabia.

But the number of Rohingya migrants moving to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh is not 69,000. It's a lot higher than that. In that case, what's the guarantee here that they would not ask to renew the passports of the remaining Rohingya members?

Often, there is news in the media about Rohingya members getting their passports and national identity cards done in the country. Even some of them have been caught at the airport while getting out of this country.

In this situation, we have to also consider the fact if renewing the passports of Rohingya expatriates in Saudi Arabia turns out to be a major problem for us.

There are about 2.8 million (28 lakh) Bangladeshi labourers living in the country. The government can take any step for their safety and welfare. However, we must also be careful so that the Rohingyas holding Bangladeshi passports cannot return to the country.

Bangladesh is now faced with a serious problem concerning the Rohingya migrants' issue. Right now there are more than a million (10 lakh0 Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, major chunk of whom arrived in 2017.

Sending Rohingyas to Saudi Arabia with Bangladeshi passports only proves the fact that past mistakes can still haunt you. Pakistan has shown more intelligence in this matter.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan only talked about the Rohingya expatriates who moved there between 1976 and 1979. But, a lot of other Rohingyas have also gone to Saudi Arabia via Bangladesh after that.

The important question here is that how did these Rohingyas get their hands on Bangladeshi passports? While the actual citizens of the country fall victim to different types of harassments in getting their passports done, the Rohingyas get their passports just like that. The mystery behind it needs to be unearthed as well.

Right when the government is about to renew 69,000 passports to ensure that the Rohingya expatriates living in Saudi Arabia can continue living in that country, more than a million (10 lakh) Rohingyas are residing in Bangladesh. There are no effective initiatives to repatriate these Rohingya migrants.

There came no positive message from the discussion with US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia, Donald Lu either. He said that the situation in Myanmar is not yet favourable for Rohingya repatriation. Then does Bangladesh alone have to bear the responsibility of those millions of Rohingyas?

It must be kept in mind that these Rohingya migrants are not only creating a severe pressure on our public life, environment and economy but are also spreading narcotics.​

 

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Myanmar can demonstrate its willingness by starting Rohingya repatriation: FM Hasan

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has told outgoing Myanmar Ambassador Aung Kyaw Moe that Myanmar can demonstrate its willingness by at least starting the Rohingya repatriation

www.thedailystar.net

Myanmar can demonstrate its willingness by starting Rohingya repatriation: FM Hasan

Photo: PID
Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has told outgoing Myanmar Ambassador Aung Kyaw Moe that Myamar can demonstrate its willingness by at least starting the Rohingya repatriation.

He said this when the Myanmar ambassador called on the minister at the foreign ministry yesterday.

"Repatriation with the full rights of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is the only solution to the Rohingya crisis," Hasan Mahmud told the Myanmar envoy.

Myanmar's foreign minister during a bilateral meeting in Uganda early this year expressed opinion that Rohingya repatriation could start this year.

Aung Kyao Moe told the minister that the current conflicts between the Myanmar army and the ethnic groups is the reason why the repatriation has not happened yet.

However, Myanmar would be try more to start the repatriation of the Rohingya.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister yesterday directed the senior officials of the ministry to effectively coordinate the activities of the Bangladesh missions abroad, supervise and improve the services to the Bangladeshi expatriates.

Chairing the meeting, Hasan Mahmud said Bangladesh needs to achieve the trade targets set by the government.

He discussed various aspects of the activities of the foreign ministry and coordination of the activities of relevant ministries.

Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen moderated the Senior Officers Meeting.​

 

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Keeping tabs on Myanmar events

Amid media reports that the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) has seized control of the Buthidaung Township of the Rakhine State near Bangladesh border with the Myanmar junta's army in full retreat, the Asian Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has called upon the United Nations, ASEAN and wider interna

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Keeping tabs on Myanmar events
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
May 19, 2024 22:00
Updated :
May 19, 2024 22:00

Amid media reports that the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) has seized control of the Buthidaung Township of the Rakhine State near Bangladesh border with the Myanmar junta's army in full retreat, the Asian Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has called upon the United Nations, ASEAN and wider international community to take urgent steps to prevent mass killing of Rohingya population now under siege by the AA. APHR said that since Friday (May 17), Rohingya civilians in Buthidaung town and surrounding villages have been under heavy gunfire and arson attack on houses by AA.

This raises fresh concern about the fate of the Rohingya population who remained in the Rakhine state of Myanmar following 2017's massacre at the hands of the Myanmar army that led to more than 700,000 of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. In February this year, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged both the Myanmar security forces and the AA to take immediate measures to minimise harm to Rohingya and other civilians caught in the crossfire following the resumption of armed hostilities between AA and Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) after a yearlong unofficial ceasefire. Myanmar junta's attitude towards the Rohingya is well-known. They would miss no opportunity to abuse, torture and kill the Rhingya people. Alarming reports were already coming from foreign media sources on how the Tatmadaw was orchestrating Rohingya protest against the AA. A news website, The Irrawaddy, run by Myanmarese exiles based in Thailand, in its March 22 report said how the Tatmadaw was trying to sow seeds of ethnic discord in the Rakhine state. Tatmadaw was rounding up Rohingya villagers and forcing them to stage demonstrations against the AA and using those fake demos through the propaganda media under Myanmar military's control. It is not that the AA is unaware of it. Even so, this age-old policy of playing one social group against another works and can cause the intended damage. To all appearances, the damage has been done. The Rohingya are now facing two adversaries at the moment-the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA). In this connection, the chief of the UN Human Rights,Volker Türk, last month warned that intensified fighting in the Rakhine State between the military and the AA was fuelling tension between the Rohingya and the ethnic Rakhine communities (majority of them being Buddhist) fearing that past atrocities might be repeated. Notably, even during 2017's Rohingya massacre members of the majority Rakhine ethnic community took part in the attacks on Rohingya population alongside the Myanmar military. As reported in April 2024 from UN sources, 15 out of 17 townships of the Rakhine State were affected by the fighting resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries and displacement of about 300,00 people. Being mainly Rohingya-dominated areas, they were obviously facing a grave risk. That was more so because, outraged by their defeat at the hands of the AA, the Myanmar military was forcibly conscripting, bribing and coercing the Rohingya men to join their ranks. That was evidently the cause for resentment of the AA and the majority ethnic group of Rakhine State against the Rohingya. Understandably, the development prompted the UN Human Rights chief to warn the international communities against the repeat of 2017 against the Rohingya community.

The Rohingya people are indeed caught between a rock and a hard place. It is unfortunate that though the Rohingya community constitutes the second largest chunk of the Rakhine State's population after the Buddhist Rakhines, they are the worst victims of persecution in that country. What is troubling is that unless there is any rapprochement between the Rohingya people still residing in the Rakhine State and the AA, we might again witness another wave of these people seeking refuge in Bangladesh because of the persecution.

In this context, can we expect any result from the call the Human Rights bodies including Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia has made urging UN bodies, international community and influential countries of the region to prevail upon the warring ethnic groups like the AA and the Myanmar regime for not starting another round of extermination campaign against the remaining Rohingya population in the Rakhine State of Myanmar? Since APHR has already (on May 18) reported on the indiscriminate attack by the Arakan Army on the besieged Rohingya population in the northern Rakine State, it is clear that the Myanmar military has succeeded in its mission to finish the task of annihilating the Rohingya from Myanmar's soil. It does not matter who does the work for them.

Already overburdened with all the Rohingya refugees that came here since 1970s, let alone the influxes of the 1990s and 2017, any fresh inrush of refugees would be the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. With the situation in neighbouring Myanmar going from bad to worse every passing day, the prospect of repatriating Rohingya refugees to their homeland is getting dimmer. For any negotiation towards Rohingya repatriation to take place would require a stable government in Naypyidaw. So, there is no scope on Bangladesh's part to sit out the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. Strong diplomatic efforts keeping backchannels open would be required to watch over developments as well as making deals with emerging forces in Myanmar. This is not just for an amicable settlement of the refugee issue. The government has also a huge stake in seeing that we have a friendly neighbour on the Southeastern border.​

 

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Myanmar rebels take on army in brutal civil war.

 

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Cox's Bazar Rohingya camp: 230 makeshift shelters burnt in fire

Around 230 makeshift shelters and 100 establishments were burnt as a fire broke out in a refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila of Cox's Bazar today

www.thedailystar.net

Cox's Bazar Rohingya camp: 230 makeshift shelters burnt in fire

Photo: Collected

Around 230 makeshift shelters and 100 establishments were burnt as a fire broke out in a refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila of Cox's Bazar today.

Apart from this, over 200 other makeshift shelters were damaged due to the fire, said Shafiqul Islam, station officer of Ukhiya fire service. At least 10 people sustained injuries while trying to escape, he added.

The fire broke out at camp-13 in Tanzimarkhola area around 11:00am, Mohammad Samsudduza, additional Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, confirmed to our Cox's Bazar staff correspondent.

The fire originated from a warehouse of a non-government organisation, he added.

However, the reason behind the fire could not be known immediately.

Shafiqul said fire fighters from Ukhiya and Cox's Bazar and some volunteers doused the blaze around 1:00pm.

Many people became homeless after the fire ripped through their shelters, he also said.

A local NGO claimed that at least 4,000 Rohingyas became homeless due to the fire.​

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.

 

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EU, US, others alarmed at ‘increasing harm to civilians’ in Myanmar

The EU, United States and other countries jointly voiced alarm on Friday at the worsening conflict in Myanmar and the ‘increasing harm to civilians’ it was bringing...

www.newagebd.net

EU, US, others alarmed at 'increasing harm to civilians' in Myanmar
Agence France-Presse . Brussels 24 May, 2024, 23:35

The EU, United States and other countries jointly voiced alarm on Friday at the worsening conflict in Myanmar and the 'increasing harm to civilians' it was bringing.

They particularly expressed concern at reports tens of thousands of civilians in Rakhine State — where the Rohingya minority live — have been forced to flee their homes, and called on 'all armed actors to ensure the protection of civilians'.

The signatories of the joint statement — the EU, United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland — stressed 'there must be accountability for all atrocities committed in Myanmar'.

Earlier Friday, the United Nations warned that escalating fighting in Rakhine had forced around 45,000 Rohingya to flee, amid allegations of killings and burnings of property.

Clashes have rocked the state since the Arakan Army, which says it is fighting to deliver more autonomy to its ethnic Rakhine population, attacked ruling junta forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021.

The signatories to the statement said they were 'deeply concerned by the escalating conflict in Myanmar and in particular the increasing harm to civilians, which are driving a worsening and devastating human rights and humanitarian crisis across the country'.

They pointed to credible reports of civilians being targeted and of torture, the use of civilians as human shields, and sexual violence against women and children.

They blamed the government for food and water shortages and cut-off access for medical and other aid.

'In Rakhine State, towns and villages have been consistently targeted by the military regime and armed groups,' the statement said.

'Reports of forced recruitment, including of Rohingya, is further dividing communities and exploiting tensions and mistrust. All populations are facing extreme levels of food insecurity.

'The situation is increasingly dangerous for all civilians, including Rakhine, Rohingya and other ethnic communities,' it said.

The EU, United States and their allies behind the statement urged an immediate end to the violence, and for other countries to stop sending military supplies, including aviation fuel, to Myanmar.

They also called for the release of arbitrarily detained prisoners and for dialogue 'so that democracy can be restored in full'.​