Thursday, 26 January 2017
The former ruling party is again
leading a charge demanding the shadowy National Defense and Security
Council be convened in response to security concerns in Rakhine State. The
Union Solidarity and Development Party were among 15 political parties to sign
a statement yesterday pressing the government to address the “Rakhine
situation” through the council.
The statement also demanded the government respond to
rumours that “non-citizens” were to be repatriated and given
national registration cards, presumably a reference to the tens of
thousands of Muslim Rohingya who have fled to
neighbouring Bangladesh in the wake of the counter-insurgency campaign
in northern Rakhine State. Bangladesh has asked Myanmar to oversee a
stabilisation of the area, followed by a return of the refugee population.
“On the news emerging that the government is issuing
national registration cards to those who are not citizens of Myanmar, people
are worried about that, and related ministries or the government should clarify
the matter,” said the statement.
U Kyaw, vice chair of the New National Democracy Party
and one of the statement signatories, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the
government should take such concerns seriously.
“‘If the government does not act transparently in
response to the rumours about repatriation, we cannot imagine what will happen
in the future with Rakhine State,” he said.
At the end of December, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs
official told Reuters that according to
government information there are only 2415 Myanmar citizens in Bangladesh and
who would be taken back. He added that he had “no idea” where Bangladesh’s
figure of 300,000 had come from.
In a statement preceding that report, Bangladesh said
that some 50,000 people from Myanmar have taken shelter across the border since
the attacks on security posts began in October, while “300,000 Myanmar
nationals [have been] staying in Bangladesh for years”.
According to the UN, as of January 23, 21,000 people are
estimated to be internally displaced within Maungdaw township, while 66,000 are thought to have gone to Bangladesh amid
the continued security clampdown and “clearance operations”.
Trying to allay fears about any sort of mass return, Daw
Aye Aye Win, a spokesperson from the foreign ministry said, “Just over 2000
people have been repatriated [from Bangladesh] from 1999 up to the present, and
there have no people repatriated recently.”
When The Myanmar Times took part in a 13-member press
junket to northern Rakhine State in December, Police Brigadier General Thura
San Lwin from the Kyee Kan Pyin Border Guard Office confirmed that many villagers have yet to return. He said a team
comprised of immigration officials, border guard police, and township
administration representatives are collecting data about the current occupancy
of villages.
“We have already finished collecting data from over 450
villages out of 905. Many of the residents have not returned yet,” he said at
the time.
Shortly after the release of the USDP’s statement
yesterday, one of the alleged signatories, the Ta’ang National Party, said they
had nothing to do with it.
According to its own statement, the TNP said there is no
official by the name of “Tun Kyaing” in their party, although such a person was
listed as signing for them.
“We strongly protest the abuse of our party’s name,” said
the TNP’s statement.
Citing ‘general crisis’, parties urge
powerful Security Council meeting
 |
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief
Senior
General Min Aung Hlaing arrive for a ceremony
at Nay Pyi Taw’s presidential
palace to hand over
power to the new government on March 30. Photo: AFP
|
The President’s Office spokesperson did not return
repeated requests for comment yesterday in response to the demand that the NDSC
be convened.
The National Defence and Security Council is an 11-member committee predominantly comprised of
Tatmadaw member and charged with key functions under the 2008 constitution. It
has not convened under the National League for Democracy-backed government.