National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman has said that the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is comparatively improving. Therefore, the time has come to take genuine political steps there.
He made this remark last Thursday in New York at a discussion organised by the US State Department on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.
The event, titled “The Global Refugee and the Asylum System: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It”, was chaired by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. Representatives from Bangladesh, Panama, Liberia, and Kosovo took part in the discussion, along with participants from other countries, international organisations, and advisory groups.
Responding to a question on whether refugees, once recognised and given asylum, can stay in a host country indefinitely, the National Security Adviser said that 50 years ago the people of Bangladesh had suffered a horrific genocide. As a result, nearly 10 million Bangladeshis crossed the border and took refuge in India. Fortunately, the war situation did not last long. Within less than a year, the war ended, and all Bangladeshis returned home.
Khalilur Rahman said that Bangladesh is currently hosting 1.2 million refugees. Over the past eight years, the world has spent more than USD 5 billion on the Rohingya. Among the donors, the United States has contributed the most.
Bangladesh, however, has likely spent far more in various non-financial ways, which cannot simply be measured in monetary terms.
The Security Adviser said: “At present we cannot send the Rohingya back against their will. But what is their will? When you, the UNHCR High Commissioner, visited the camps, you saw that they are indeed willing to return [to Myanmar].”
He added that efforts are now underway to raise humanitarian funds for the Rohingya, which is essential. As long as they remain in Bangladesh, they must be fed and taken care of. “Yet,” he noted, “I see comparatively little effort being made to actually resolve the problem.”
Referring to positive developments in Rakhine, the National Security Adviser said that 85 to 90 per cent of the region is now under the control of the Arakan Army. “We have regular communication with them,” he said. “Last week, the Arakan Army sent me photos showing their discussions with internally displaced Rohingya who had returned from camps in Rakhine. These IDPs have gone back to their own villages.” He added that the situation in Rakhine is improving and gradually returning to normal. “Therefore, now is the time to take genuine political steps there.”
Khalilur Rahman further said, “Within the next few months we need to come together. We must commit—both to ourselves and to the refugees—that we will invest politically in resolving this crisis.” He noted that next week an international conference on the Rohingya will be held at the United Nations, with many countries expected to participate. “The Rohingya are waiting in hope of a solution. They want to return home.”
Bangladesh’s National Security Adviser concluded: “In three to four years’ time, we do not want to be spending money on refugees in camps anymore. Instead, we want to use part of these resources inside Myanmar—where the Rohingya can begin new lives and reclaim their future.”
