[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

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Dhaka to host int’l conference on Rohingya issue in Sept-Oct next: CA press secretary

Bangladesh will hold an international conference on Rohingya crisis in Dhaka in September-October next year, said chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday.

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Dhaka to host int’l conference on Rohingya issue in Sept-Oct next: CA press secretary
BSS
Published: 10 Dec 2024, 22: 45

Chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam briefing newsmen at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Tuesday evening. PID

Bangladesh will hold an international conference on Rohingya crisis in Dhaka in September-October next year, said chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Tuesday.

“The modalities of the conference will be finalised by April next and we expect that various countries of the world, including those, who are interested in this issue like the United Nation, European Union, China, India and USA, will participate in it,” he said while briefing newsmen at Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Tuesday evening.

In this connection, the press secretary said the government has been monitoring the Myanmar situation closely.

When asked, he said the chief adviser has appointed a high representative, who has solid professional background and a career diplomat to monitor the Rohingya crisis intensively and talk to stakeholders concerned.

He said chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus presented the idea of holding the conference during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York in September last. “We talked to the UN many times over the issue,” Alam added.

On 19 November 2024, Dr Khalilur Rahman was appointed as the ‘High Representative on Rohingya Crisis and Priority Issues Affairs’ to the chief adviser.

Chief adviser’s deputy press secretaries Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Apurba Jahangir were also present at the press briefing.​

 

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The nincompoop in the video suggests that Arakan Army will forcefully occupy Chittagong of Bangladesh. The total number of armed members of Arakan Army is approximately 40 thousand. The video is in Bengali.

 

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Tension, fear on Teknaf frontier

Locals and Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar are in fear amid reports of the Arakan Army’s takeover of the Rakhine State and full control of the 270km Myanmar border with Bangladesh.

www.thedailystar.net

Tension, fear on Teknaf frontier
Naf river route closed, trade with Myanmar stopped as Arakan Army claims taking control of border

Locals and Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar are in fear amid reports of the Arakan Army's takeover of the Rakhine State and full control of the 270km Myanmar border with Bangladesh.

Due to security concerns, Teknaf upazila administration yesterday imposed restrictions on traffic on the Naf, which flows between Teknaf and Myanmar territory.

Boats that carry people and supplies between Teknaf and St Martin's Island had not operated yesterday, according to Rashid Ahmed, president of the local service trawler owners' association.

He hopes the restriction would be lifted today.

Faysal Anowar, a resident of Nayapara village, said, "We heard the sound of bombing and shelling coming from across the Naf river in Myanmar for weeks. We worry about the safety of our families."

As per international media reports, there had been intense fighting between the Myanmar junta and ethnic armed group Arakan Army. Locals say there has not been any bombing since Sunday, but military planes were frequently flying over the border.

Abdus Shukkur, a fisherman of Sanrang village, claimed that the Arakan Army detained several fishermen from the Naf estuary a few days ago.

"Sometimes they open fire on the Bangladeshi fishermen, saying that we are in their territory. We cannot risk our lives while fishing," he said.

Maulana Harun Amini, a resident of Ghumdhum area in Naikhongchhari, Bandarban, said he was afraid to go to his farm next to the border.

"Who knows when they will begin fighting again and one of us will become a victim?" he asked.

Contacted, Teknaf Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sheikh Ehsan Uddin said, "The estuary of the Naf is used by large trawlers that go to the sea. We restricted the movement of those trawlers through that part."

Abdul Jalil, president of fishing trawler owners' association in Teknaf, said despite risks, around 10 fishing trawlers went to the sea via the Naf.

"We are scared. This is our livelihood. That's why the fishermen are risking their lives," he said.

BANGLADESH-MYANMAR TRADE DISRUPTED

Jasim Uddin, general manager of Teknaf United Land Port Ltd, said, "The last boat to arrive from Myanmar with goods was a fishing trawler from Yangon on December 7. Currently, four Myanmar trawlers are at the land port jetty. The boatmen are not willing to return."

UNO Ehsan said the BGB and Coast Guards were on alert to prevent illegal entry to Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Rohingya leaders in Cox's Bazar are concerned about the long-awaited repatriation process.

"We want to sit with the Arakan Army and talk about our chances of returning to our homeland," said Kamal Hossain, chairman of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals Representative Committee in Cox's Bazar.

Mohammad Zubair, chairman of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, said people of his community were frequently calling him from Maungdaw township and saying that they were in fear of a crackdown on Rohingyas.

Many international media reported that the Arakan Army claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the territory along Bangladesh-Myanmer border on Sunday.

AP quoted the Arakan Army as saying that after claiming control over the northern part of Rakhine, it ordered the suspension of transport across the Naf because police and local Muslims affiliated with the army were attempting to escape by boat to Bangladesh.

AP reported, "The rebel group has been accused of major human rights violations, particularly involving its capture of the town of Buthidaung in mid-May, when it was accused of forcing an estimated 2 lakh residents, largely Rohingyas, to leave, and then setting fire to most of the buildings. It was accused of attacking Rohingya civilians fleeing the fighting in Maungdaw in August."​

 

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Tension continues along border

Tension remained high along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border as of Wednesday evening amid a heightened risk of a fresh influx of Rohingya people as rebel group Arakan Army had established its full control along the border between the two countries in the Rakhine state...

www.newagebd.net

Tension continues along border
Staff Correspondent 12 December, 2024, 00:32

Tension remained high along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border as of Wednesday evening amid a heightened risk of a fresh influx of Rohingya people as rebel group Arakan Army had established its full control along the border between the two countries in the Rakhine state.

Villagers dwelling close to the border in Bangladesh side shared their security concern. ‘Although the terrifying sounds of gun shots and bombing have stopped but this silence scares us. There is no certainty,’ said Aminul Islam from Teknaf on Wednesday afternoon.

No cargo trawlers from Myanmar arrived at Teknaf land port since Sunday afternoon as the upazila administration imposed an indefinite ban on vessel movement in the Bangladesh part of the Naf River, including the Teknaf-Saint Martins route.

Law enforcement agencies continued maintaining their beefed-up security measures along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border as of Wednesday. The security measures were stepped up following the Arakan Army’s capture of the last outpost of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police in the strategic western town of Maungdaw on Sunday.

Teknaf upazila administration, as did on Tuesday, repeated public announcements on Wednesday also about the indefinite ban on vessel movement in Naf River and safety measures.

Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer SK Ahsan Uddin confirmed on Wednesday evening that the border area remained silent since the Sunday evening.

‘Due to the unstable situation along Myanmar border, the administration has instructed Bangladeshi fishermen and all types of vessel operators not to venture into the Naf River until further notice,’ he said.

Syed Mohammed Anwar Hossain, manager of United Land Port Limited, which operates the Teknaf land port, said that vessels from Myanmar that docked earlier at the port remained stuck there, unable to return home.

According to him, a cargo trawler carrying fish docked at the port’s jetty on Friday. Currently, four cargo trawlers remained anchored at the jetty and goods were being unloaded from two of them.

Rashid Ahmad, president of the Saint Martins Service Trawler Owners’ Association, said that 27 service trawlers and 47 speed boats, operating on the Teknaf-Saint Martin route, remained docked at the jetty following instability deepened in the border area, summoning stricter surveillance by the Border Guard Bangladesh and Bangladesh Coast Guard.

Tourist ships, however, operating between Cox’s Bazar and Saint Martin Island via the Bay of Bengal, would continue as usual, he said.

BGB Teknaf Battalion acting commanding officer Major Syed Istiaque Murshed could not be reached over phone for comment.

Coast Guard East Zone media officer Lieutenant Shakil on Wednesday said that the border situation did not deteriorate further but they remained on alert along the Bangladesh part of the Naf River to stop trespassing through the waterway.

On Sunday the Arakan Army, one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army, claimed the capture of the last army outpost in Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometre-long border with Bangladesh.

Because of the geography with hills and streams, Tambru border area with Myanmar in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban also remains vulnerable. ‘However, the recent development in Maungdaw has no impact on here so far. BGB personnel remain on high alert to check trespassing,’ said Naikhongchhari upazila nirbahi officer Muhammad Mazharul Islam Chowdhury.​

 

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Bangladesh closely monitoring Myanmar situation: foreign secretary

Bangladesh is keeping a close watch on the volatile situation in Myanmar, Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said today

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Bangladesh closely monitoring Myanmar situation: foreign secretary

Md Jashim Uddin

Bangladesh is keeping a close watch on the volatile situation in Myanmar, Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin said today.

"We are keeping watch," he told media when asked whether Bangladesh will develop contact with the Arakan Army, which has taken control more than 80 percent of Rakhine State and the 271-kilometer border with Bangladesh.

"We will do whatever needed to protect our national interest. Our top priority for now is the repatriation of over a million Rohingyas taking shelter in Bangladesh," Jashim Uddin said at the foreign ministry today.

Bangladesh has been facing immense challenges in terms of funding and security because of the presence of the Rohingyas, most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in 2017.

Bangladesh is now weighing various options for sustainable solution to the Rohingya since the formation of the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus.

Asked about the Bangladeshi fishermen detained by the Indian coastguard, Jashim said Dhaka has communicated New Delhi for their repatriation.

Indian Coast Guard apprehended 78 Bangladeshi fishermen for allegedly entering Indian territorial waters. They were intercepted onboard two vessels, FV Laila-2 and FV Meghna-5, near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) last Monday.

The fishermen were taken to Paradip Port in Odisha and handed over to local police on Tuesday.​

 

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Battle in Myanmar's Rakhine: Bangladesh authority allows limited vessel movement in Teknaf

A few trawlers travelled from Shaporidwip to Saint Martin island via Kular Char on Thursday as the Teknaf upazila administration relaxed vessel ban through the Naf River.

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Battle in Myanmar's Rakhine: Bangladesh authority allows limited vessel movement in Teknaf
Staff Correspondent 13 December, 2024, 01:08

File photo

A few trawlers travelled from Shaporidwip to Saint Martin island via Kular Char on Thursday as the Teknaf upazila administration relaxed vessel ban through the Naf River.

On Sunday afternoon, the Teknaf upazila administration imposed a complete vessel ban for an indefinite period amid a tense situation along the Bangladesh-Myanman border.

The situation worsened as the rebel group Arakan Army, one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army, claimed the capture of the last army outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometer (168-mile) -long border with Bangladesh.

Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer SK Ahsan Uddin told New Age on Thursday evening that the upazila administration had relaxed the vessel ban for maintaining the commodity supply chain between mainland Teknaf to the Saint Martin Island.

He, however, reconfirmed that vessel ban over the Naf River between Bangladesh and Myanmar border was still effective.

Rashid Ahmad, president of the Saint Martin Service Trawler Owners’ Association, said three trawlers from Teknaf carried medicine, vegetables, oil, pulse, rice and other food items to the Saint Martin on Thursday evening.

He also said that Teknaf-based fishers continued fishing in the Bay of Bengal.

‘Fishing is halted only in the Naf River,’ Rashid said.

Bangladesh Coast Guard’s East Zone media officer Lieutenant Shakil said that the border situation didn’t deteriorate further.​

 

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Gunshots in Rakhine rock Teknaf again

The sound of gunshots in neighbouring Rakhine state across the border shook Teknaf upazila again on Friday morning.

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Gunshots in Rakhine rock Teknaf again
Staff Correspondent 13 December, 2024, 18:10

The sound of gunshots in neighbouring Rakhine state across the border shook Teknaf upazila again on Friday morning.

Several local residents said that the sound might have come from Magnipara, Putungpara, Sudhapara, Foyezipara and surrounding areas in Maungdaw of Rakhine in Myanmar.

‘It started at 7:30am and continued till 9:45am,’ Abdur Rahman, a residence of Shah Porir Dwip, told New Age.

Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer SK Ahsan Uddin confirmed the information on Friday evening.

‘However, no conflict situation was spotted surrounding the Bangladesh-Myanmar border area,’ he said, adding that the upazila administration allowed limited vessel movement in the Bangladesh side on the Teknaf-Saint Martins island route under the surveillance of Bangladesh Coast Guard.

He also mentioned that the upazila administration’s ban on vessel movement through the Naf between Bangladesh and Myanmar was still effective.

Rashid Ahmad, president of the Saint Martins Service Trawler Owners’ Association, said that four trawlers travelled to the coral island with daily supplies and three trawlers returned from there to Teknaf on Friday.

On Sunday fresh tension sparked in border upazila Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar as the Arakan Army, one of the most powerful ethnic minority armed groups battling Myanmar’s army, claimed the capture of the last security outpost in the strategic western town of Maungdaw, gaining full control of the 271-kilometre -long border with Bangladesh.

On the same day, the Arakan Army also imposed a vessel ban on the Myanmar side of the Naf.​

 

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Dhaka won't take any hasty steps over Rohingya issue: Khalilur Rahman

Dr Khalilur Rahman, High Representative on the Rohingya Crisis and Matters of Priority to the Chief Adviser, said on Friday that Bangladesh would not take any hasty steps regarding the Rohingya issue without a proper assessment of the emerging situation in Rakhine State, Myanmar. “We’r

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Dhaka won't take any hasty steps over Rohingya issue: Khalilur Rahman
UNB
Published :
Dec 14, 2024 00:17
Updated :
Dec 14, 2024 00:17

Dr Khalilur Rahman, High Representative on the Rohingya Crisis and Matters of Priority to the Chief Adviser, said on Friday that Bangladesh would not take any hasty steps regarding the Rohingya issue without a proper assessment of the emerging situation in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

“We’re keeping watch on the emerging situation in Rakhine… We don’t want to do anything hastily. We’ll not take any steps without deep consideration,” he said while joining a discussion in the capital via a virtual platform.

Unity for Bangladesh, a non-profit youth-based voluntary organisation, arranged the discussion titled ‘Rohingya Crisis and Regional Security: Pertinent Considerations of Bangladesh’ at Professor Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury Auditorium in Dhaka University in the afternoon.

Dr Rahman said the issue is not only a humanitarian matter but also an issue of internal security or national security for Bangladesh. “So, we’ll take our next steps following sufficient assessments,” he said.

He noted that a standoff situation continues in Rakhine State, as the Arakan Army has taken control of about 80-85 per cent of the area, particularly the mainlands of the Rohingya, which have completely come under the control of the Arakan Army, a non-state actor.

Dr Rahman stated that Bangladesh needs to wait until the final situation in Myanmar is clear. “Our future engagement will depend on the situation that stands there,” he added.

Prof. CR Abrar, an expert on migration and refugee issues, stressed the need for significant investment in the Rohingya community for their education, health, livelihood, and other training to enable them to repatriate to their motherland with dignity and recognition of their identity.

He said Bangladesh needs to choose its allies to educate this community, as it is an international responsibility. He added that all international bodies and communities would be eager to provide all forms of support for their education, health, and training purposes.

Noting that what has been done in the name of their education is ineffective, Prof. Abrar said, “If they could stand in a strong position, then both the Arakan Army and Burmese Junta will take them back.”

He emphasized that Bangladesh should make a significant departure from its current policy and enable the community so they can defend themselves and their rights.

“I think our strength (in dealing with the Rohingya issue) will come when we make a significant investment in this community,” said Prof. Abrar.

Lt Gen (retd) Mahfuzur Rahman, former principal staff officer at the Armed Forces Division, stressed the need to adopt a proper policy to take advantage of the geopolitical and geostrategic situation. “I think we need to revisit our existing policy,” he said.

He emphasised the need for developing the Rohingya as human resources and creating leadership among them.

Mahfuzur stated that Bangladesh missed its opportunity three times between 2017 and 2024 to find a solution to the Rohingya issue, and now it is going to miss the fourth opportunity.

He said Bangladesh missed the first opportunity by not keeping displaced Rohingya in no man’s land during the 2017 exodus, the second one in 2022 by refusing the Arakan Army when its chief sought humanitarian support and sympathy from Bangladesh and stated they would take back the Rohingya, and the third one in February 2024 by not relocating some Rohingyas to a place inside Myanmar when the Bangladesh-Myanmar border remained unguarded for three weeks following the flight of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police.

Noting that now the National Unity Government is willing to accept the Rohingyas and provide them citizenship, the retired general said Bangladesh might miss this opportunity as well.

Maj Gen (retd) Nayeem Ashfak Chowdhury, a security analyst, and Dr Saima Ahmed, an international relations teacher at Dhaka University, as well as writer Altaf Parvez, also spoke at the discussion, which was presided over by Monzur Moin, the spokesman of Unity for Bangladesh.​

 

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Battle in Myanmar's Rakhine State: Passenger vessels resume operation in Naf

The Teknaf upazila administration relaxed the ban on passenger vessels’ operation in the River Naf after Friday night’s discussion between the administration and the trawler owners on the security situation...

www.newagebd.net

Battle in Myanmar's Rakhine State: Passenger vessels resume operation in Naf
Staff Correspondent 15 December, 2024, 00:41

The Teknaf upazila administration relaxed the ban on passenger vessels’ operation in the River Naf after Friday night’s discussion between the administration and the trawler owners on the security situation.

Teknaf upazila nirbahi officer SK Ahsan Uddin told New Age on Saturday that the trawlers carrying passengers and commodities were now allowed to move from Teknaf to Cox’s Bazar, Saint Martin Island and the Bay of Bengal.

‘No sounds of firing or explosions were heard since Friday noon. The situation seems quiet. Following the development, the ban on vessel movement was relaxed,’ he said

Vessel operators are instructed not to cross the international border line, he warned.

He added that fishing in the Naf River had been suspended for a long time. However, there was no restriction on the movement of fishing trawlers from the River Naf to the sea.

Rashid Ahmad, the president of the Saint Martin Service Trawler Owners’ Association, said that all the service trawlers from Shah Porir Dwip to Saint Martin’s Island had resumed operations.

After months of fighting with the Myanmar military junta, the Arakan Army claimed to have taken control of the town of Maungdaw on December 8. Following this, the Arakan Army issued a statement imposing an indefinite ban on navigation in the Myanmar-controlled portion of the River Naf.

In response to this situation, on Sunday, the Teknaf upazila administration imposed an indefinite ban on the movement of all vessels in the Bangladesh-controlled portion of the River Naf, including the Teknaf-Saint Martin’s route.

During the ban, special measures were taken on Thursday to deliver essential goods to Saint Martin’s Island.​

 

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Several thousand Rohingya waiting to cross the Myanmar border into Bangladesh

More than 37,000 Rohingyas were evicted from homes in five villages nearby Maungdaw and their homes were also occupied.

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Several thousand Rohingya waiting to cross the Myanmar border into Bangladesh
Staff Correspondent &
Published: 15 Dec 2024, 08: 55

Myanmar Rakhine state on the other side of Naf River Prothom Alo file photo

As Myanmar armed group Arakan Army took control of Maungdaw township in Rakhine state, several thousand of Rohingya men, women and children fear eviction in five nearby villages. Members of the armed group took over the Rohingya’s homes and gathered the villagers in place. Once these Rohingya people get a chance they might cross the Naf river and enter Bangladesh, but Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Coastguard heightened patrols on the Bangladesh border.

It has been learned after speaking to Rohingya leaders staying in Bangladesh that more than 37,000 Rohingyas were evicted from their homes in Sudhapara, Ukilpara, Sikderpara, Fayezipara and Nurullahpara nearby Maungdaw and their homes were also occupied.

Meanwhile, limited movement of vessels started on the Naf river on Friday afternoon after several days of closure. Tourists are still avoiding Tenaf and using the BIWTA jetty in Nuniachhara of Cox’s Bazar town to travel to Saint Martin’s Island. Trade through Teknaf land port also remained halted.

Several sources from the border area said the Arakan Army took control of about 270-kilometre area, including Maungdaw township, that borders Bangladesh by taking control of the country’s Border Guard Police’s 5 frontier battalion in the south of Maungdaw township on 8 December.

Rohingya organisation Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH) president Mohammad Jubayer told Prothom Alo that the Arakan Army drove out Rohingys people from their homes and gathered about 37,000 people in the Perangpru area. These Rohingya are being allowed to leave for Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia in exchange for money, but they cannot enter Bangladesh as they fail to pay the money.

“There has been a conflict between Rohingya and the Arakan Army for a long. When we were in Rakhaine the Arakan Army and the junta forces jointly tortured Rohingya people,” he added.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) and additional secretary Mohammed Mizanur Rahman told Prothom Alo they are closing observing situations in Myanmar. Security has been beefed up in Naf river to prevent intrusion, and no intrusion happen until Saturday afternoon.

Limited movement of vessels began on Friday afternoon after a ban was lifted. Rashid Ahmed, president of the Tenkaf-Saint Martin Service Trawler Owners' Association, said many people dare not operate water vehicles in the Naf river due to fear of kidnapping and firing. Previously, 74 trawlers and speed boats were operated on this route, and a few of them are in operation now.

Amid the current situation, import and export had remained halted through Teknaf land port since 7 December, causing troubles to 45 Bangladesh traders as they purchased frozen fish, onions, garlic, turmeric and logs and kept those goods at Sittwe, formerly Akyab, to ship to Bangladesh. Traders cannot bring the imported goods to Teknaf port now because of the situation in Rakhine state.

Teknaf Land Port C&F Agent Association general secretary Ehteshamul Haque Bahadur said traders of Teknaf are in trouble as trade remained halted for eight days. Besides, there is no opportunity for talks as the armed group has taken control of the Rakhine state.

Teknaf land port customs officer BM Abdulah Al Masum said the government lost Tk 30 million in revenue per day due to the halt in trade.

This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna​

 

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Post-Coup Myanmar: Junta scares aid groups to hide hunger

Myanmar’s ruling junta has suppressed information about a severe food crisis gripping the country by pressuring researchers not to collect data about hunger and aid workers not to publish it, a Reuters investigation has found.

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Post-Coup Myanmar: Junta scares aid groups to hide hunger

Myanmar's ruling junta has suppressed information about a severe food crisis gripping the country by pressuring researchers not to collect data about hunger and aid workers not to publish it, a Reuters investigation has found.

In conversations over the past two years, junta representatives have warned senior aid workers against releasing data and analysis that indicate millions of people in Myanmar are experiencing serious hunger, according to people familiar with the matter.

In a sign of the sensitivity around this data, the world's leading hunger watchdog – the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – in recent weeks removed its colour-coded assessment of Myanmar from the global map on its website where it displays the levels of hunger afflicting dozens of countries. The reason: fears for the safety of the researchers.

In another move to protect data collectors and analysts from the junta, the IPC never made public three detailed analyses that showed the war-torn Southeast Asian nation, once known as the rice bowl of Asia, was facing one of the worst food crises on the planet.

Reuters spoke to more than 30 aid workers, researchers, diplomatic sources and United Nations officials about hunger in Myanmar. Most declined to speak on the record, saying they feared retribution by the military. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted an elected government in 2021, sparking mass protests that escalated into an armed rebellion on many fronts.

An official at Myanmar's Ministry of Information didn't respond to questions for this story.

An IPC "Special Brief" on Myanmar, dated November 5 and reviewed by Reuters, said about 14.4 million people, or about a quarter of the population, were experiencing acute food insecurity in September and October this year. Acute food insecurity refers to food deprivation that threatens lives or livelihoods. The report projects that by next summer, 15 million people will face acute levels of food insecurity.

Underlying data from that report appeared on a UN website last month, but was later removed because of security concerns. A web page now says: "PAGE NOT FOUND."

The aid workers interviewed by Reuters described a harrowing environment in which most data must be collected clandestinely and aid agencies are afraid to publish their findings on malnutrition and food insecurity – or even share them with one another.

The fear is justified: Last year, Myanmar's military detained multiple food-security researchers, according to people familiar with the matter. The detentions haven't been publicized. Reuters was unable to determine what happened to the researchers.

The secrecy surrounding hunger research in Myanmar has hindered relief organizations' efforts to raise money for humanitarian aid because they can't use their findings to spotlight the severity of the problem, according to a diplomatic source. The UN's humanitarian response in Myanmar is one of the world's most severely underfunded. The UN has sought nearly $1 billion from donors for Myanmar aid this year but has received just 34 percent of the goal.

"I've not worked in many contexts like Myanmar where it's been so scrutinised that people have a fear of talking about an issue like food security and nutrition," the diplomatic source said.

Reuters also uncovered at least four examples of how the junta blocked aid distribution or seized food supplies intended for the hungry. One such spot is the western state of Rakhine, where there has been a surge in violence in the past year following the collapse of a ceasefire between a powerful rebel group called the Arakan Army and the military. In Rakhine, home to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, the military in recent months has prevented the delivery of food and medicine to severely malnourished children in an area gripped by cholera, according to aid workers.

Hunger in Rakhine is so severe it is partly responsible for an exodus of 70,000 refugees this year to Bangladesh, almost 50 percent more than previously reported. In November, the United Nations Development Program warned that Rakhine is on the brink of an "acute famine," putting more than two million people at risk of starvation.

Tom Andrews, the UN's special envoy for human rights in Myanmar, told Reuters that the junta is "systematically restricting" humanitarian aid access, contributing to the spread of cholera and other infectious diseases. He said he has received reports that many of the hundreds of thousands of needy people cut off from international assistance "are on the brink of starvation."

The junta's rule has had a "catastrophic impact on agriculture and food supply," a spokesperson for the British embassy in Yangon said. "People are going hungry daily, children are malnourished, and millions are being plunged into poverty."

The situation in Myanmar highlights how the global system for tackling hunger and preventing famine – comprising UN agencies, non-governmental humanitarian groups and donor countries – is under enormous strain. Last year, almost 282 million people in 59 countries and territories faced high levels of acute food insecurity. Reuters is documenting the global hunger-relief crisis in a series of reports, including from Sudan and Afghanistan.

One of the chief obstacles to alleviating hunger is national governments that thwart aid efforts, including the collection of nutrition data, whether to avoid the embarrassment of needing outside help or to prevent food from reaching enemy-held territory. Besides Myanmar, Reuters found that in three other countries now suffering food crises – Ethiopia, Yemen and Sudan – governments or rebels have blocked or falsified the flow of data to the IPC, or have tried to suppress IPC findings.

In private discussions with UN officials, junta representatives have criticised data published on Myanmar's hunger crisis and have said they don't want the country to be considered a failed state or compared to conflict-torn places like Ukraine and Gaza. At one session in the capital, Myanmar's foreign minister addressed food security with UN officials over plates of snacks. There is no food security crisis, the minister said, according to people familiar with the meeting.

The junta's foreign ministry and information ministry didn't respond to emailed requests for comment. The junta has said it doesn't block humanitarian aid from international organisations and that it ensures available assistance reaches those in need.

It was hunger, not just the fighting, that pushed heavily-pregnant Juhara Begum to risk a perilous journey out of Myanmar's Rakhine state. The 25-year-old said her family had to survive on leaves and other vegetation. There was nothing to eat, so when her older son, a toddler, cried they gave him a piece of banana stem to suck on to relieve the hunger.

"It felt like hell," she said, speaking at a refugee camp in southern Bangladesh near the coastal town of Cox's Bazar. She arrived there last month after a days-long walk.

Other recent arrivals include 23-year-old Kasmida Begum, her husband Sulaiman and their two young children. She said there was so little to eat that she was unable to breastfeed their baby. "Where will milk be produced from, if I am hungry all the time?" she asked.

Myanmar's military ruled the country for decades until democratic reforms paved the way for the election of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's government in 2015. Her administration and aid organisations worked to improve nutrition across a vast and impoverished nation. Those gains have been reversed dramatically since 2021, when army chief Min Aung Hlaing overthrew Suu Kyi's democratically elected government and appointed himself prime minister. Suu Kyi's son said she is being held in solitary confinement in a prison in the capital, Naypyitaw.

After crushing mass protests triggered by the coup, the junta faced a nationwide uprising. New armed groups joined long-established ethnic armies to seize vast swathes of territory. The junta continues to lose ground rapidly. Its troops have killed thousands of civilians and jailed tens of thousands in prisons where torture is pervasive, according to the UN's human rights office. The UN says 3.4 million people have been internally displaced since the 2021 coup – a major driver of the hunger crisis, which has also been exacerbated by flooding and other extreme weather.

The junta has passed a law requiring all non-governmental organisations to register with authorities or risk jail. They are required to seek permission to carry out research, but authorisation is rarely granted, especially on food and nutrition-related topics, according to aid workers.

In interviews, several aid workers expressed fear they or staff from partner organisations would be arrested or have their operations shut down if they conducted their work openly. To minimise risk, the identities of some researchers who collect food and hunger data are kept secret even from one another, aid workers said.

Despite the intimidation, some headline data on Myanmar's food crisis has been published. In recent days, both the World Bank and the UN have released reports showing that hunger there is significantly worsening for millions of people.

Like other aid groups, the UN's World Food Program (WFP) delivers reports to local authorities, donors and partner organisations on its operations in the countries where it works. To protect its staff and local partners, the WFP, the UN's main food-aid distributor, hasn't published its situational reports for Myanmar since June 2023. The reports provide the latest updates on the WFP's activities and responses to emergencies. The WFP also hasn't released its Annual Country Report for Myanmar since 2022.

Collecting data is challenging. The conflict and mass displacement have made it dangerous and impractical to conduct in-person nutrition surveys, researchers said. Gauging malnutrition of children, for instance, often requires researchers to visit homes and clinics and measure upper-arm circumferences.

The military has also blocked attempts to conduct a nationwide nutrition study, saying it couldn't ensure the safety of the survey staff, one UN official said. The last such study was conducted in 2015 and 2016 – making the data nearly a decade old.

Some aid organisations have found ways to produce limited surveys. Reuters learned of two studies conducted in recent months that found high levels of child stunting and wasting, the most severe and life-threatening form of malnutrition.

One focused on children in Rakhine state. It found that the majority of children surveyed were reported to be sick and many were malnourished. The other survey found stunting was evident in 65 percent of children surveyed in parts of Myanmar's southeast, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced by recent fighting.

The studies haven't been published for fear of retribution by the military, people familiar with them said.

The junta has blocked the supply of rice and other food, medicine and essentials into parts of Rakhine and other war zones, multiple aid workers told Reuters. During an outbreak of cholera in recent months, the military also blocked sanitation work in squalid camps in Rakhine where Rohingyas are confined. And the junta has severely restricted phone and internet access to vast areas, including the most of Rakhine state.

The fighting between the military and rebel forces has damaged the facilities of humanitarian relief organisations, harming their ability to distribute aid.

The UN human rights office last year publicly accused Myanmar's military rulers of burning food stores and restricting aid access. The office said aid providers were consistently exposed to risk of arrest and harassment by the junta.

In June of this year, clashes escalated in Rakhine's Maungdaw township between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army rebel group. Late that month, a WFP warehouse there with enough food and supplies to sustain 64,000 people for a month was set alight, according to the food-aid distributor. Video footage released by the Arakan Army shows flames and smoke billowing out of two buildings as people walk away with stuffed white sacks.

The Arakan Army accused the military of burning the warehouse; the junta blamed the rebels and said the military had rescued the food and distributed it to the local population. The WFP didn't assign blame for the arson attack.

The junta and the Arakan Army didn't respond to questions about the fire at the warehouse or what happened to its contents.

Over the past year, as fighting has intensified across the country, skyrocketing food prices have rendered staples unaffordable to many. The junta's economic policies, including import restrictions, have contributed to inflation, researchers said.

Some of the most dire food insecurity in the country is among displaced people in Rakhine state, according to the IPC's unreleased November report.

Food prices in Rakhine have risen 154 percent in the last year as of October, with the cost of vegetables having more than quadrupled, according to a UN unit that compiles Myanmar data. The price of rice, a national staple, has also soared. In one Rakhine township it was more than 10 times more expensive in July than at the start of 2021, according to the United Nations Development Program.

Five refugees who recently fled Rakhine described sharp increases in food prices. Some said they were unable to afford even an onion.

About 70,000 people from Rakhine state have crossed into Bangladesh this year, according to a Bangladesh official. That is nearly 50 percent higher than the 46,000 new refugees from Myanmar the UN said it recorded in Bangladesh this year through September. Many are victims of "hunger-induced displacement," the Bangladesh official said.

Dark scars and small bulbous blisters cover the feet of Juhara Begum and her husband Rahimullah – reminders of their dangerous journey out of Rakhine. They were among several refugees who said they starved after the Arakan Army looted supplies and expelled them from their homes near the town of Buthidaung, Myanmar's largest Rohingya settlement, which the rebel group attacked in May.

"No markets were open. There was no healthcare, no help from anyone. We never received any aid," said Rahimullah. The couple now live in a bamboo-and-plastic shack in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, surrounded by more than a million other Rohingyas. Many were expelled in a military-led ethnic cleansing campaign in 2017.

His family would have been killed or "starved to death" if they had stayed, said Rahimullah.

Arakan Army spokesman Khine Thu Kha told Reuters there was no looting in areas under the militia's control. He has previously denied that the Arakan Army targeted the Rohingyas.

Mohammad Munna, 42, said his family had to forage for sustenance in Rakhine after being driven from their home. They survived on bamboo shoots, tapioca leaves and fruit. His children cried themselves to sleep from hunger, he said.

A neighbour's children, aged two and four, died after suffering from diarrhoea in their burned-down house, according to Munna. Healthcare and medicine were "non-existent," he said.

A day later their mother, suffering from fever, died as well.​

 

[Saif]

Rohingya repatriation issue amid changing realities

With the insurgent ethnic armed group of Myanmar, the Arakan Army (AA), gaining full control of Maungdaw township on the bank of Naf river that separates Bangladesh from the Rakhine state of Myanmar, it appears that the Myanmar junta has finally lost its westernmost state to the armed rebels. The d

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Rohingya repatriation issue amid changing realities
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
Dec 17, 2024 00:16
Updated :
Dec 17, 2024 00:16

With the insurgent ethnic armed group of Myanmar, the Arakan Army (AA), gaining full control of Maungdaw township on the bank of Naf river that separates Bangladesh from the Rakhine state of Myanmar, it appears that the Myanmar junta has finally lost its westernmost state to the armed rebels. The development calls for cautious monitoring by the government as it is directly linked to the country's border security as well as the issue of repatriating more than a million Rohingya refugees now staying in different camps in Bangladesh. Notably, following a pogrom carried out between October 2016 and August 2017 by the Myanmar junta on the Rohingya people in the Rakhine state, which is their ancestral abode, close to a million Rohingya men, women and children fled to Bangladesh to save their lives. But even after seven years of parleys with Myanmar authorities, no meaningful progress could be made about repatriating the Rohingya to their homeland, the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Now that the Arakan Army (AA) is the de facto ruler of the Rakhine state of Myanmar, Bangladesh should align its Rohingya policy to the emerging realities by establishing contact with AA. Since the AA now controls their side of the entire 271-km border with Bangladesh, they (the AA) are also our neighbour in the present circumstances. And as the situation in the Rakhine state is still fluid and AA is a non-state actor, the interim government will have to tread carefully on the subject.

In this connection, the interim government is learnt to have taken the initiative to communicate with the AA. And the Chief Adviser's Special Representative on Rohingya issues, Dr Khalilur Rahman, told a recently-held discussion meet that as the AA has seized about 80 to 85 per cent area of the Rakhine state and Rohingya-populated areas are among them, the situation demands due attention. But he was for handling the matter with caution. However, initiative has meanwhile been taken to engage with AA for managing security of the border between Bangladesh and the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

And so far as the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees is concerned, the issue has become further complicated due to AA's strained relation with the Rohingya community.

Last May, after AA's capturing Buthidaung, a Rohingya majority township in the southwest of the State, a mass expulsion of the Rohingya population and widespread arson attacks on their homes and properties took place. Since July, about 60,000 members of the Rohingya fled the Rakhine state and took refuge in Bangladesh adding to the existing population in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. There are also allegations from the Rights bodies that Rohingya civilians were massacred in Maundaw in August, which AA denied. However, AA at the same time claimed that Rohingya insurgents are fighting against them alongside the Myanmar military. There is truth in AA's allegation since the Rohingya insurgent group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), is reportedly fighting the AA. There are also others who have reportedly been press-ganged into joining the Myanmar military to fight anti-junta rebels. Members of the Rohingya community who have joined or have been forced to do so say they have no other choice.

One might recall at this point that during the massacre of the Rohingya between October 2016 and August 2017, their (Rohingya community's) Buddhist neighbours actively participated in the pogrom by killing, setting fire to Rohingya houses and plundering their properties. The Arakan Army (AA) is essentially a Buddhist-dominant rebel outfit that won't simply tolerate the Rohingya in their midst. Which is why some Rohingya fighters are of the view that the Myanmar army won't recognise them as citizens of Myanmar, but the AA won't even allow them to exist. So, the Rohingya are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Understandably, the Rohingya repatriation issue is indeed getting thornier by the day. The sensitivity of issue would, therefore, require those in the repatriation talks to have special talent in the art of negotiation.

​

 

[Saif]

Rebel group recaptures its HQ after 30 years

A Myanmar ethnic rebel group said yesterday it had recaptured its headquarters from the Myanmar military, almost 30 years after it was forced out.

www.thedailystar.net

Rebel group recaptures its HQ after 30 years

A Myanmar ethnic rebel group said yesterday it had recaptured its headquarters from the Myanmar military, almost 30 years after it was forced out.

Karen National Union (KNU) fighters had seized Manerplaw on the Thai border following days of fighting, KNU leader Saw Thamain Tun told AFP.

Myanmar junta troops "still want to take it back and they used drones and tried to bomb our troops," he said. "But, our troops took the base already," he said.

For years Manerplaw was the headquarters of the KNU's decades-long armed struggle for rights for the Karen minority and home to other dissident politicians opposing Myanmar's then-junta.

Following a split within the Christian-majority KNU, the junta and a breakaway Buddhist faction captured the base in 1995, sending thousands fleeing into Thailand.​

 

[Saif]

24 Rohingyas held while trying to flee Bhasan Char

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard detained 24 Rohingyas, including men, women, and children, at Parki Beach in Anwara upazila of Chattogram while they were attempting to flee from Bhasan Char

www.thedailystar.net

24 Rohingyas held while trying to flee Bhasan Char

This aerial view of Bhasan Char shows a portion of the housing facilities that has been built on the island to relocate the Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar. File Photo

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard detained 24 Rohingyas, including men, women, and children, at Parki Beach in Anwara upazila of Chattogram while they were attempting to flee from Bhasan Char.

Lt Shakil Mehbub, media officer of the Coast Guard East Zone, told The Daily Star that the Rohingyas fled from the Bhasan Char camp and landed at Parki Beach in Anwara this morning while en route to Cox's Bazar via boat.

Upon noticing the refugees, the coast guard personnel detained them and informed local police, he said.

"They will be sent back to the Bhasan Char Rohingya camp," the media officer added.​

 

[Saif]

US worried over conflict in Rakhine State: Millar

The United States has expressed concern over the ongoing conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and its potential to destabilise the region.

www.thedailystar.net

US worried over conflict in Rakhine State: Millar
Calls for media freedom in Bangladesh

The United States has expressed concern over the ongoing conflict in Myanmar's Rakhine State and its potential to destabilise the region.

Speaking at a press briefing in Washington yesterday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller emphasised the urgency of addressing the crisis.

"We remain concerned by the conflict and its potential to undermine regional stability and security. Helping resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis remains a priority for us.

"We will continue to work with Bangladesh to support the Rohingya and members of other vulnerable communities from Burma [Myanmar] who have taken refuge there," Miller added.

The ongoing conflict has significantly escalated the humanitarian crisis in the region. The Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group, now controls more than 80 percent of Rakhine State, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General António Guterres has assured UN's full support for the high-level conference on Rohingya to be held in early next year.

He expressed his deep concern over the plight of the Rohingyas and highly commended Bangladesh for sheltering the displaced Rohingyas when Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Muhammad Abdul Muhith paid farewell call on Guterres in New York on Tuesday.​