By Aman Ullah
A.K. Abdul Momen, the Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh, told to the Dhaka-based diplomats and representatives of international
agencies on efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees on Aug. 29, 2019 that,
China has proposed a fresh tripartite meeting with Bangladesh and Myanmar to
jumpstart the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims. China’s proposal came a week
after a second attempt to return thousands of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar from
camps in southeastern Bangladesh collapsed.
Earlier, in November 2017, the Chinese
government lays the out the following three-point plan to ease Rohingya crisis:
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A.K. Abdul Momen, the Foreign Minister of
Bangladesh, told to the Dhaka-based diplomats and representatives of international
agencies on efforts to repatriate Rohingya refugees on Aug. 29, 2019 that,
China has proposed a fresh tripartite meeting with Bangladesh and Myanmar to
jumpstart the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims. China’s proposal came a week
after a second attempt to return thousands of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar from
camps in southeastern Bangladesh collapsed.
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According to FM Momen, it would not be the
first time for China to arrange a tripartite meeting about the Rohingya, there
had been another two meetings earlier – one in New York and the other in
Beijing.
The Chinese diplomat who was also in that
meeting with FM Momen told reporters that they had discussed “many important
issues,” including a “sustainable repatriation” of the Rohingya refugees. He did
not elaborate.
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During Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina’s visit to Beijing last month, she was told by Chinese President Xi
Jinping and her counterpart, Li Keqiang, that a sustainable repatriation to
Rakhine was the best solution to the Rohingya crisis, Momen told to reporters.
“The Chinese ambassador came to my office and reiterated their position,” Mr
Momen said.
“The first is to have a ceasefire and to
restore order and stability, so the people can stop running away and live in
peace”.
“In the second stage, all parties should
encourage and support Myanmar and Bangladesh to strengthen exchanges, to find a
way to solve this issue through consultation on the basis of equality.”
"The third stage was for the international
community to help develop Rakhine".
China, Myanmar’s top investor, has in recent
years strengthened its position in the western part of the country where the
Muslim Rohingya minority lives. Rakhine’s facilities are vital to China, which
seeks to secure pipelines that carry oil and natural gas from the Middle East
to Yunnan. (Southwest China), avoiding Malaga Strait between Malaysia and
Indonesia.
China is also the largest foreign investor in
Myanmar, with a total business volume of $ 25.3 billion. Myanmar’s economy is
closely linked to China, which has strengthened trade, energy and defense ties.
Overall, China’s foreign direct investment accounts for about a quarter of
total foreign direct investment in Myanmar.
Between 1988 and 2014, China’s investment
reached more than $ 15 billion in the military-run country, most of which was
in the mining and energy sectors. China also continues to supply the country’s
military regime with weapons and equipment.
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For Rakhine’s state, China has pumped
billions of dollars for investment into ports, and natural gas and oil in the
war-ravaged state. There is a giant business in Rakhine State, located on an
area of 1700 hectares at a cost of $ 2.3 billion in cooperation with China.
Once the project is completed – in 20 to 30 years – the commercial area will
cover about 100 hectares. China also has a deep seaport and a large economic
zone at a cost of $ 9 billion in Kyaukpyu, south of Rakhine, an area dedicated
to China until 2038.
Moreover, the Rakhine state plays a
significant role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Like Gwadar port in
Pakistan, Kyaukphyu port and Myanmar will be important links in both the
Maritime Belt and Silk Road components of the BRI. As a result, the “stability
of Rakhine” is regarded as “important” to the success of the BRI. The violence
and unrest in Rakhine could have impact on the success of its projects in
Myanmar and the BRI, in particular, underlie China’s interest to end the
Rohingya crisis and restore stability in the region.
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The Rohingya crisis, if not resolved soon,
may haunt the entire Southeast Asian region. And the difficult terrain of
mountains and forests is most suitable to sustain long-term guerrilla warfare
both against Myanmar and China, and that would be extremely costly to endure.
This crisis indeed is going to be a stain on
the leadership of China and other countries for a long time to come. Even a
drop of conscience should compel Chinese policymakers to act responsibly for
about one million refugees—according to the most recent UN assessment—are
living in dire and desperate conditions in Bangladesh, a poor country itself.
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Looking back, when Rakhine residents
including Rohingyas revealed the damages they faced due to the Chinese gas-oil
pipeline project (from Rakhine to Yunnan province of China), had China given
the local residents fair compensation for the expropriated lands for China's
pipeline project, things might have turned out differently. The compensations
for Rakhine residents would have been only a tiny fraction of the enormous
benefit China would receive every year by bringing in gas and oil through
Rakhine instead of through the distant Strait of Malacca and the risky South
China Sea.
A stable and developed Rakhine would have
been conducive to China's expressed greater vision of the regional developments
in which China would remain an indispensable and dominant player. On the other
hand, conducive environments, which pave the way for the voluntary, safe and
dignified return of the thousands of Rohingya refugees is also very much
essential. The possibility of a win-win state of affairs was nipped in the bud.
Now, a costly quagmire in the form of a mega humanitarian crisis has emerged.
Thus, the China is a key player for
expediting the repatriation process by encouraging Myanmar to create conducive
environments in Rakhine State for the repatriation, rehabilitation and
reintegration of the Rohingyas. The repatriation must be voluntary, safe,
dignified and sustainable.
For a sustainable repatriation: -
1. The repatriation must be voluntary. For
their voluntariness it is needed;
a. To provide all the refugees with adequate
information about their rights under international law, including their right
to seek refuge and not to be forcibly returned.
b. To provide them with viable alternatives-–
protection in Bangladesh or resettlement to third countries – so that their
choice to return is not influenced by a lack of international protection.
c. Should be consulted individually and not
be put under pressure to agree to return to Myanmar as a group.
2. Repatriation must be under the
international supervision.
3. All returning refugees should be
guaranteed their rights to nationality, self-identification and documentation
under international law.
4. All Rohingya should be guaranteed equal
treatment under the law and be protected from discrimination. They should be
able to enjoy their basic human rights, including the freedom of movement, the
right to liberty and security of the person, the right to education and right
to an adequate standard of living.
5. Repatriation should be proceeded and
accompanied by step taken by Myanmar which included;
a. Granting full access to humanitarian and
human rights agencies, including UN investigators and monitors.
b. The reconstruction of all destroyed
properties and the guarantee that ownership will be reverted to the displaced
occupants and that they will be able to return to their homes
c. The de-militarization of North Rakhine
State and the ensuring of security of all returnees.
6. Repatriation should be complemented with
an independent process to document all violations committed against civilians;
to ensure accountability of all perpetrators; and to compensate victims and
their successors.
7. Community rehabilitation and integration
should be prioritized, including through identifying and combating hate speech
and through desegregation.
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Moreover, the Government of Myanmar must take
confidence building masseurs before commencement of the repatriation.
There are almost 600, 000 Rohingya still
remained in Rakhine. The great majorities of them are confined to camps in
central Rakhine, or huddled in often partially destroyed villages across the
north. They continue to eke out a precarious existence, denied citizenship of
the country in which they were born, and denied access to livelihoods,
education, health care and freedom of movement.
Those who are not in camps are essentially
confined to their villages by a web of laws and local orders. Some require a
Village Departure Certificate to move between villages or a “Form 4” to move
between townships. They face curfews that have been imposed for the past two
years and they live in fear of harassment, beatings or worse from soldiers, the
police and militias.
There are about 128,000 Rohingya – more than
half of them children – who have been confined since 2012 in de facto detention
camps in Sittwe, Pauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U and Myebon townships, and in the Aung
Mingalar “ghetto” in downtown Sittwe, the state capital. The camps are often
subject to flooding, cut off by checkpoints, and controlled by management
committees that regulate every aspect of the lives of the Rohingya, who are
dependent on aid handouts.
First of all the Myanmar government should be
repatriated to all who are confined in the camps to their original places,
rehabilitated them to their original houses and reintegrated them to their
original societies. And should withdraw all the restrictions and laws and order
for those who are confined in their villages.
Reversing the years of oppression for
Rohingya in Rakhine State is vital not only for those still living there, but
also for the refugees in Bangladesh. It is impossible to ask anyone to return
to a country where they are denied citizenship, security and the basic
necessities of life.
The first and most important step for the
return of refugees from Bangladesh is not the establishment of reception
facilities on the border. It is creating an environment in which all people in
Rakhine State can have a reasonable hope of living in dignity.
The only solution is to dismantle the methods
and systems of repression in Rakhine State. Abolish the cruel and divisive
categories of citizenship based on race and religion, so that all people have
an equal right to live, work, study, and seek health care and travel.