No decision yet on 'humanitarian corridor’ to Rakhine for aid, says press secy Shafiqul

He clarifies the government’s position on establishing an aid passage to war-torn Rakhine state

The chief advisor’s press aide Shafiqul Alam has said he has not discussed with the United Nations (UN) or any other organisation the plan to open a “humanitarian corridor” to send aid in Rakhine, Myanmar.

Clarifying his stance, the press secretary in a social media post on Tuesday said: “Our position is that should there be a UN-led humanitarian support to the state of Rakhine, Bangladesh would be willing to provide logistics support.”

However, he wrote in his post that no decision has yet been made in the matter.

He spoke about this in a post titled “Q and A on the ‘humanitarian corridor’ to Rakhine” on his verified Facebook account.

In the post, he wrote:

“Q. Reports are circulating about a UN ‘humanitarian corridor’ to the Rakhine State of Myanmar through Cox's Bazar. Concerns have been expressed that it is part of the geopolitical design of a major world power and will affect Bangladesh's security and sovereignty. Even a major political party has commented that a decision on a corridor should not have been taken without consultation with the main stakeholders in the country. Could you please tell us what is actually happening?

“Answer: We want to make it categorically clear that the government has not discussed the so-called ‘humanitarian corridor’ with the UN or any other entity. Our position is that should there be UN-led humanitarian support to the state of Rakhine, Bangladesh would be willing to provide logistics support.

“According to UNDP, the Rakhine state is facing an acute humanitarian situation. Bangladesh has a stellar record of helping countries in times of distress, as exemplified by our aid to Myanmar following a recent devastating earthquake.

“Moreover, we are concerned that the persistence of suffering may lead to further inflows of people from Rakhine into Bangladesh, which we cannot afford.

“We also believe that the UN-supported humanitarian aid would help stabilise Rakhine and create conditions for the return of the refugees back to Myanmar.

“Given the present conditions, the only viable route for delivery of aid to Rakhine is through Bangladesh. Bangladesh is agreeable in principle to provide logistics support to the transportation of aid through this route.

“However, there has not been a decision on the provision of aid to Rakhine. We are in touch with the concerned parties in this regard. In due course, we will consult relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh.

“As regards the reports of involvement of a major power, these are pure and unadulterated propaganda. We have seen a constant barrage of malicious disinformation hurled against Bangladesh in recent months, which is still continuing. This sort of propaganda is no different.”