Government in contact with Arakan Army too for a Rohingya solution

Bangladesh is maintaining contact with the Arakan Army, the influential armed group in the Rakhine region, alongside the Myanmar government, to resolve the Rohingya crisis and ensure sustainable repatriation, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed has said.

She said this on Sunday (8 November) at a dialogue held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital. The Policy Research Centre organised the dialogue on the Rohingya issue. The state minister spoke as chief guest at the closing session of the dialogue.

Shama Obaed said the Rohingya crisis is not merely a humanitarian problem; it is fundamentally a deep political issue. That is why national consensus, institutional coordination and engagement at all levels are essential for its solution.

She said the highest importance is being given to building national political consensus to tackle the Rohingya crisis and keeping the issue active in the international arena. In view of the changing global situation, a 'whole of government' approach has been adopted to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingya.

To this end, a national strategy formulation committee is working with coordination among the home, foreign and social welfare ministries and relevant agencies, under the leadership of the top level of the government, she said.

Describing the current situation in Rakhine, Shama Obaed said a long-term solution to this problem is not possible through conventional diplomacy alone. Because of the current political and territorial reality in Rakhine, formal and informal contact is being maintained with the Arakan Army, the local controlling force, alongside the Myanmar authorities.

At the same time, she said, vigorous efforts are under way to involve important partners such as China, India and ASEAN member states in this process.

Highlighting the multifaceted challenges caused by the Rohingya crisis, the state minister said the prolonged presence of a huge number of Rohingya has left the local population, including in Cox's Bazar, facing a severe economic and social crisis.

She said incidents such as drugs and human trafficking in the border area, conflicts among various armed groups in the refugee camps, and the detention of Bangladeshi fishermen have made this crisis a cause of concern for Bangladesh's national security.

She said that among the nearly 1.3 million Rohingya, a large number of children are born every year. On the other hand, the situation is becoming more complicated day by day due to a lack of adequate funding.

On the proposal raised at the United Nations to resolve the crisis, she said it is extremely important to draw up a clear roadmap for the dignified, safe and voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland, to stop the violence in Rakhine, and to ensure accountability for the perpetrators.

She called on the media and all concerned parties to play an active role in keeping the Rohingya issue active and on the priority list in international forums, even amid the various wars raging around the world and new refugee crises.

Also speaking at the dialogue were former adviser to the interim government Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, Revolutionary Workers Party president Saiful Haque, Professor Dr Mahbubul Haque, and Dr Shakil Ahmed, executive director of the Policy Research Centre.