Suu Kyi tells Britain Myanmar will take back Rohingyas from Bangladesh

UK State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mark Field has said Aung San Suu Kyi has promised him that Rohingyas will be taken back from Bangladesh.

At a press briefing in Dhaka on Thursday after his visit to Rakhine State, he said, "She assured me she wants all refugees to return to Burma."

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech to the nation over the Rakhine and Rohingya situation, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar September 19, 2017. Reuters

According to him, Myanmar’s de facto head of government is in a “difficult situation” and is trying to find the “fine line” between international pressure and domestic compulsion.

Field is the first foreign minister allowed in the Rakhine State after the brutal military crackdown began on Aug 25.

The UK foreign and Commonwealth affairs state minister said there are a lot of “diplomatic efforts” going on behind the scenes to solve the crisis, and the issue is not a “localised” one now.

“We’ll utilise all diplomatic means we can at this stage," Field said.

He, however, would not speculate about when and how the repatriation would take place.

“I have seen with my eyes a terrible situation and what we can do is to try to exert as much pressure as possible with all of our friends."

He, however, cautioned that if Suu Kyi falls in Myanmar, then the military would have “full-fledged” power and the situation would be “the worst”.

He argued in favour of a diplomatic solution rather than punitive sanctions at this stage.

The stateless Rohingyas are living in Bangladesh for long, but the latest army campaign in the western state launched in response to attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on security posts near the Bangladesh border on Aug 25  has forced half a million of them into Bangladesh.

The UN has described the situation as ‘textbook ethnic cleansing’.

Mark Field

The British state minister pressed for an 'urgent resolution' to the crisis, during talks with the State Counsellor Suu Kyi in capital Naypyidaw.

He said he made three proposals to her: stopping violence right now, allowing humanitarian access to the Rakhine State and implementing Kofi Annan Commission report.

He said Myanmar needs to heed the UN Security Council's call to end violence and allow aid workers in the Rakhine.

The State Minister for International Development Alistair Burt, who also accompanied Field during his 24-hour Dhaka visit, said the UK had taken two-fold steps – humanitarian aid and taking a strong lead in diplomatic efforts, referring to the UN Security Council resolution which was moved by the UK.

He said during his just concluded visit to Thailand -from where he came to Dhaka on Wednesday to join Field who arrived from Myanmar on the same day - he had also sought support to resolve the crisis.

A volunteer attends to a Rohingya child, who fell unconscious while travelling with his brother from Myanmar. Photo: mostafigur rahman

Field said the question now is whether the Rohingya people will be allowed back home, after thousands of homes have been burned, thousands died and half a million forced to flee into Bangladesh.

If that return does not take place, he said, the UN secretary general would be right to call it an ethnic cleansing.

He said he is aware of the frustration of Bangladesh with the decades-old crisis, but said “please be assured that things are moving with pace”.  

“This is a fast-moving and fluid situation. But please rest assured a lot of diplomatic efforts are going on behind the scenes,” he said.

The UN Security Council will sit on Thursday in New York for an open debate on the issue where the UN chief will brief the 15-strong body.

“We will stand by you. You have made great sacrifices in your country. You have opened the border at the difficult time. International community will stand by Bangladesh as this crisis time,” Field said.

“The politics and diplomacy is a tireless and frustrating process and needs patience at times. Please be assured that apart from humanitarian aid, we are very committed to ensure political and diplomatic solution,” he said, adding that he would come back to Bangladesh soon.

Rohingya refugees scramble for relief materials at Palongkhali in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar on Saturday as aid workers throw clothes from a truck. Photo: muhammad mostafigur rahman

When asked whether Suu Kyi would keep her word, the state minister said, “She looked into my eye and she said that.”

“I think the UK government wants her to deliver."

He, however, indicated that Suu Kyi also needs international support to make good on her promises.

“Outside Rakhine there are positive stories, she told me,” Field said. “The flowers of democracy have begun to bloom in Burma.”

“She has a huge majority and great support of international community. I feel the people of Burma want to see democracy flourish in the country, not the return of the military.

“She is a lady of great dignity and she is a lady of tremendous duty, duties of bringing democracy and peace and freedom to the people of Burma.

“She is a lady of great dignity and she is a lady of tremendous duty, duties of bringing democracy and peace and freedom to the people of Burma,” he said, giving that context she deserves at this stage support from the international community.

But Field said Suu Kyi 'also needs to deliver on what she said to me", adding that he hoped she would ensure the return of Myanmar nationals.

He, however, said the idea is not to return in a displaced camp, the idea is to ensure their return in their own villages.

State Minister for International Development Burt is also optimistic about the return of Rohingyas given the scale of the humanitarian crisis this time.  

“The scale of the crisis in humanitarian sense is so great that it might just prompt the world to resolve the issue. In the past it has been managed.

"The scale of the crisis is large and obviously raises the interest of international community at a different level. Perhaps that provides an opportunity now to really deal with the issue," Burt added.