Why the dithering?
The government's hesitation is baffling given the fact
that Bangladesh has been deeply affected by the Rohingya exodus resulting from
Myanmar's brutal military campaigns against the minority group, and efforts to
settle the matter bilaterally have virtually failed.
We wonder why Bangladesh is still undecided whether to
respond to a request by the International Criminal Court for its input as the
court was considering an application by a prosecutor for jurisdiction over the
expulsion of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
The two countries signed a repatriation agreement early
this year, but Myanmar has repeatedly stonewalled the process by imposing new
conditions and refusing to maintain the previous standards of repatriation. Not
a single family has been repatriated so far.
What does, then, restrain Bangladesh from providing the
ICC with evidence and information? Since Myanmar is not a signatory of the Rome
Statute, a case against its leadership could only proceed only if the Security
Council referred it to the court. But China and Russia signalled no intention
to not veto any such measures.
Therefore, when a prosecutor of the international court
argued that since Bangladesh, a signatory of the Rome Statute was affected by
the crisis, the court could exert its jurisdiction over the matter, Bangladesh
should have enthusiastically supported the contention.
The government should realise that its experience of
engaging with Myanmar bilaterally has been futile. There's little chance it
would yield any surprising result in the near future. Therefore, for
Bangladesh, there's no choice other than engaging with the international
community and institutions to resolve the crisis.
Source: The Daily Star
Source: The Daily Star