Strategic plan to resolve Rohingya crisis mending inaction urged

Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya, Coxs Bazar.

GreenWatch News Desk

The need for a comprehensive national strategic plan to effectively deal with the Rohingya issue by ending 16 years of non-commitment was emphasised at a roundtable in the capital on monday. 

Speakers at the meet said that instead of taking the repeated Rohingya influx as a serious security issue, it has all along been viewed as a temporary thing. This has led to the 8 long years of burden of over one million refugees with no opening seen on their return to their homeland.

Terming the influx as ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar military they said Bangladesh should have played a carrot and stick policy from the beginning but only the carrot has been shown so far.

The speakers who included strategic experts, members of the academia, political leaders, journalists and researchers called for the setting up of an organization exclusively to deal with the crisis and its stakeholders.

The roundtable on Charting peace, securing borders: Bangladesh's post election challenges in the Rohingya crisis

was jointly organised by Foundation for Strategic and Development studies (FSDS) and Conflict and Resilience Research Instutute (CRRIC) at a local Hotel.

Brig Gen Sakhawah Hossain (retd) Adviser to the government who was the chief guest at the programme said that the Rohingya issue was a total failure for Bangladesh.

Referring to some demands raised at the roundtable he said that war is no solution, rather diplomacy should be strengthened for this. The military can create space for diplomacy, he said.

Presided over by Maj General Fazle Elahi Akbar, chairman of FSDS, the function was also addressed by Lt Gen Aminul Karim, Major Gen AMSA Amin (retd), Canada based strategic expert Dr  Kawsar, Prof. Ali Ashraf, Prof Imtiaz Ahmed abd Prof. Tahmina Mohsin of Dhaka University, 

Ashraful Huda, ex IGP of Police, Brig Gen Shafat Ahmed, Brig Gen Manjur Quader, Prof. Abdul Latif Masum, Rohingya refugee Md Shahidullah and FSDS secretary general Isharaf Hossain spoke at the function among others.

Brig Sakhawat Hossain said we should develop relationship with Rakhaine or Arakan which will eventually need Bangladesh. We have also to think of strategic changes and have to take a diplomatic course and be active in it. A multi- pronged diplomacy is needed. The Rohingya have to be back to their homeland Rakhine, Myanmar, he added.

Earlier in his address of welcome Maj Gen. Fazle Elahi Akbar said we have lost a lot of years. The political forum should be engaged. Unless you unite for yourselves none is going to invest in you.

He said that the Arakan Army is equally against the Rohingya like the Tatmadow, the Myanmar Army. Arkan Army wants to have talk with us but not the Rogingya issue.

Md. Mizanur Rahman said that influx of Rohingyas started in 2012 when tablig jamaat people were massacred but BD made no sound. Finally the big influx happened in 2017.

He said there should be a designated body to get the jobs done on the issue of Rohingya. We have carrots, not sticks. Arakan Army is flooding our country with yaba tablets, but we are sending consumer goods to them. 

In 16 years we went backwards. We have to overcome this. Strong stable government is needed to deal with the issue.

Afroza Nasim Ferdous said Bangladesh has not engaged the problem at all. When president Zia wrote Myanmar to join Saarc there was no response. We have also not engaged the Asean. We have a sizeable military but have not gone to use this power. Our foreign policy remained single-track.

She called for creating a new mintry on the East to deal with Myanmar and Asean, and reach out for China by engaging with Pakistan.