Bangladesh parliament passes motion to push Myanmar for safety of Rohingyas

Banngladesh parliament has passed a motion in a desperate attempt to mount diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingya refugees and ensure their safety by giving them citizenship.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Sept 2017, 04:33 PM
Updated : 13 Sept 2017, 06:09 PM

The MPs unanimously passed the motion on Monday amid global concerns over an ongoing army operation in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims.

The crackdown has forced over 300,000 people from the ethnic minority group to flee Rakhine State and take shelter in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh had already been sheltering around 400,000 Rohingyas who fled decades of persecution in the Buddhist-majority southeast Asian nation.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was among the MPs who took part in the discussion on the motion placed by former foreign minister Dipu Moni.

They called for an emphasis on pursuing Myanmar government to take back the Rohingyas sheltered by Bangladesh on humanitarian grounds.

The latest wave of Rohingya inpouring started after insurgent attacks on police posts and an army base in Rakhine State on Aug 25.

This followed another spell of influx in October last year after similar attacks.  

Before these, Rohingyas tried to enter Bangladesh in large groups in 2012.

The government strengthened security along the border at the time when Dipu Moni was foreign minister.

When the Rohingyas started to cross the border again last year, the government did not change its stance, but the border guards appeared to give in to the pressure considering the huge number of refugees and humanitarian issues. This year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered officials to treat the Rohingyas humanely.

Bangladesh had proposed that Myanmar build ‘safe zones’ for the Rohingyas in order to ease the violence in Rakhine.

But the country did not respond to the call, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told foreign diplomats in Dhaka on Sunday.

Myanmar was rather running a ‘malicious campaign’ by terming the Rohingyas ‘Bengali terrorists’, he said.

In the notice on the motion, Dipu Moni referred to historical backgrounds to reject Mynmar’s claim that the Rohingya are Bangladeshis. 
 
“They are citizens of Myanmar. They have been living in Arakan state for over 500 years. Arakan was an independent Muslim state in 14th and 15th centuries.  Sixteen Muslim emperors ruled Arakan from 1404 to 1622. King Bodhapoa took control of Arakan in 1784 and included it with the then Burma,” she said.    
 
Dipu Moni added that Arakan, which is called Rakhine now, was part of the Union of Burma when it was freed from the British rule in 1948.
 
“All sorts of citizen’s rights were suspended for the Rohingyas when Burma passed the citizenship law in 1982,” she said.
 
The former foreign minister also mentioned the recommendations by a commission headed by former UN chief Kofi Annan to resolve the Rohingya crisis. 
 
She noted the commission recommended recognition of Rohingyas as citizens of Myanmar.
 

“One Aylan’s body on the shore of the Mediterranean shocked the world. Now bodies of hundreds of Aylans are washing up on the shore of the Naf river. 
“We want the world to step forward and stand beside the Rohingyas,” she said, referring to the horrific image of the 3-year-old Syrian Kurd's lifeless body on the Turkish beach after the capsize of a migrant boat.

Global leaders are condemning Myanmar for the persecution and killings of Rohingyas but they are applauding Bangladesh for sheltering the refugees. 

The government, however, is repeatedly saying it is not possible for Bangladesh to bear the huge burden for a long time.

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Raushon Ershad, taking part in the discussion, urged China and India to take measures to end the Rohingya crisis. 

She slated Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the atrocities against the Rohingyas.

“How can a leader who received Nobel Prize for peace create so much anarchy?...I hope India and China will move to resolve the crisis,” she said.

Raushon also said it would not be good for Bangladesh if the Rohingya refugees spread inside the country. “We must push Myanmar to take them back.”

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, and Awami League MP Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, among others, spoke at the discussion.