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Bangladesh needs to get tough with Myanmar


This has gone on long enough. Bangladesh can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines

For far too long have we had to watch silently as the Myanmar army carried out its ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in their own homeland.

For far too long have we as a publication spoken out on this issue, only to see no action being taken to resolve it.

Let no one say that this is an internal matter for Yangon. As a nation directly affected by Myanmar’s Rohingya problem, we urge the Bangladesh government to take up this cause, if not for humanitarian reasons, then definitely for the sake of regional prosperity and stability.

While there is no doubt that our country has done more than it can in providing aid and refuge to the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing persecution, this is no longer a viable long-term solution.

Our nations signed two agreements on the repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar — one in 1978 and the other in 1992 — under which many Rohingyas returned home. It’s clear that the Myanmar government’s current intransigence begs for tougher diplomatic action to be taken.

The repatriation deals prove two things: That Rohingyas are Myanmar citizens and that bilateral talks between the two nations can yield results.

This has gone on long enough. Bangladesh can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines.

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(c) 2017 Dhaka Tribune

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