In the last week of April, Bangladesh agreed in principle to a United Nations proposal to establish a humanitarian channel to Rakhine State in neighboring Myanmar, aiming to provide aid to thousands of people in Rakhine facing a famine-like situation.
However, debates and speculation about geopolitical power games stalled the proposal, rendering approximately two million Rohingya, one of the most persecuted minorities in the world and victims of genocide, deprived of fundamental rights.
Critics question the exact nature of the humanitarian corridor with questions such as: Who would ensure the security of the border areas? Would the Arakan Army, which controls about 80 percent of Rakhine State, and the Myanmar junta agree to a ceasefire? And is a UN Security Council resolution necessary?
Media speculation also discussed whether the proposal for a humanitarian channel was a US ploy to use Bangladesh as a proxy to fight the Myanmar junta and Balkanize their country.
The move comes as the Buddhist-majority nation already faces a civil war involving numerous ethnic groups and civilians battling the junta that seized power in a coup in 2021.
Speculation suggests that the US will be actively involved in this region to counter China.
Bangladesh’s political parties, too, opposed the channel, arguing that it would threaten the country’s independence and sovereignty. This prompted Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman to provide clarification.
“Bangladesh wants stability in Rakhine State and the creation of conducive conditions so that the Rohingya do not flee to Bangladesh and then eventually the Rohingya now sheltered in Bangladesh return to Myanmar,” Khalilur Rahman told a May 4 seminar.
He said Bangladesh accepted the idea conditionally. It sees a ceasefire in Rakhine as necessary before any humanitarian channel can be established.
Another condition is to ensure the representation of the Rohingya in the leadership of Rakhine State. Otherwise, it would be similar to ethnic cleansing, and Bangladesh will not accept it, he said.
“We are waiting for the response from the Myanmar side,” the Bangladesh National Security Adviser said.
All these developments occur as the Rohingya continue to flee their homes due to starvation and forced recruitment by the Arakan Army to fight the Myanmar junta.
Since November 2023, when the conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army intensified, approximately 118,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, joining the 1.2 million already there, most of whom fled in 2017 following a military crackdown in Rakhine State.
About 500,000 Rohingya are living in Rakhine now, but they, along with other ethnic groups, live in a precarious situation, since violence between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhist communities erupted in 2012.
Of those still in Rakhine, approximately 141,000 live in camps meant for Internally Displaced People (IDP). Additionally, 107,000 have been displaced due to clashes between the junta and the Arakan Army since 2019.
A UNDP report in November last year said war-ravaged Rakhine State could face imminent famine, estimating that more than two million people could be at risk of starvation as Rakhine’s economy has stopped functioning.
Rights group Fortify Rights says the junta-imposed restrictions on aid deliveries have directly resulted in civilian deaths and have blocked trade routes, exacerbating food and medicine shortages.
The junta fully controls three of the 17 townships in Rakhine, including the state capital Sittwe — a key port city. The control over the port allows the junta to effectively block aid deliveries to Rakhine State from other parts of Myanmar.
A humanitarian channel to Rakhine State through Bangladesh is also aimed at circumventing the junta’s control over the port.
However, questions and speculation seem to have prompted Bangladesh’s interim government, which lacks the authority to make policy decisions, to put the proposal for the humanitarian channel on hold.
The pertinent question is why regional and global powers remain apathetic while the people in Rakhine desperately search for ways to survive.
Following a genocide case filed by The Gambia, the International Court of Justice in January 2020 ordered Myanmar to take steps to protect its minority Rohingya population.
In November last year, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for the head of Myanmar’s military regime, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, for crimes committed against the Rohingya.
All these calls seem to have been ignored by the world powers, who have the leverage to exert real pressure on Myanmar to protect civilians and punish the perpetrators of genocide.
Regional powers China, India, and Japan, all of which have substantial business and geopolitical interests and influence in Myanmar, also appear to have taken no action.
Regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which upholds the principle of non-interference in members’ political affairs, and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which focuses primarily on economic issues, appear ineffective in addressing Myanmar’s military affairs.
It is time for the international community to put pressure on Myanmar’s junta to allow aid agencies to operate in Rakhine and withdraw any restrictions imposed on trade and aid through Sittwe and other ports.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
