Rohingya crisis calls for more than just diplomacy

Bangladesh, Documents, Education, Help Refugees, Human Rights, Myanmar, Refugees Issues, Religious Rights

A seminar was held recently at the initiative of Jahangirnagar University’s newly opened Bangladesh Centre for Indo-Pacific Affairs of its international relations department. The topic of discussion was ‘Bangladesh and Indo-Pacific Collaboration, Priority and Concern.’ The concept of Bangladesh’s general people about the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) so far has basically been based on a proposal of Indonesia towards the start of 2013. A multilateral initiative has been taken up jointly by the US and its allies and this has now gained significant expansion.

While western countries are at the forefront, the US is the main initiator. Now efforts are being made to draw various countries of the world, Afro-Asian developing countries in particular, into the IPS fold. It is being touted that the main objective of this is to ensure that the Pacific Ocean and India Ocean (Indo-Pacific) remains free and to keep other seas free and ensure a rules-based order. Many geopolitical experts, however, feel that the actual objective of the western world and allies is to keep China at bay. They feel that the rise of China is a threat, particularly to US’ monopoly of power.

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When the military rule of Ne Win began in 1962, the oppression of the Rohingyas was stepped up further and then in 2017 it reached a height. Presently around 1.2 million Rohingya are refugees in Kutupalong of Cox’s Bazar. Some of them have been there from 1992.

The significant point about the present-day Rakhine is that Arakan had once been an independent state that had been taken over by the Konbaung rulers in 1785. The Burmese community in particular was settled in South Arakan (Rakhine) to change the demographic ratio of the local population there. Even so, in Rakhine there are local Arakanese Buddhists and Muslims and in the north, the ethnic communities there include Chin, Mro, Khumi and Kuki.

While the presence of Burmese in Arakan or Rakhine is strong, over 30,000 armed fighters of the local ‘insurgent group’ Arakan Army (AA) are engaged in conflict with Myanmar’s armed force (the majority of whom are Burmese Buddhists). They demand autonomy, at the least.