Tension at border: Dhaka should call for int’l investigation

Bangladesh should call for an international investigation into Myanmar's unlawful activities at the border since the latter has shifted blame to the Arakan Army and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, said an international relations analyst.

Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University's international relations department told The Daily Star yesterday that the investigation can be done either by the UN or by forming a commission with experts from countries like Japan, India, ASEAN members, China.

The call comes amid escalation of the conflict between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border since early August.

Mortar shells and bullets fell repeatedly in Bangladesh side of the border and Myanmar helicopters also flew over the border. This was a violation of Bangladesh's sovereignty, said Prof Imtiaz Ahmed.

Last Friday, a Rohingya youth was killed in the shelling and several others were injured.

The foreign ministry summoned the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka four times to lodge protest and sought foreign countries' cooperation in stopping the conflicts.

The Myanmar foreign ministry on Monday summoned Manjurul Karim Khan Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar, and told him that the Arakan Army and ARSA have been attacking border areas deliberately to damage relations between the two countries.

Foreign ministry officials said Myanmar previously violated Bangladesh's sovereignty during the Rohingya influx in 2017 and 2018, and a repeat was unacceptable.

On Tuesday, acting foreign secretary Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam told foreign diplomats in Dhaka that Myanmar should not be allowed to destabilise the region and hamper Rohingya repatriation, including the 7.5 lakh Rohigyas who fled the brutal military crackdown in 2017.

Prof Imtiaz, also director of Centre for Genocide Studies at DU, said the issue should be strongly raised at the ongoing UN General Assembly. Bangladesh can also think of reporting the matter to the UN Security Council, he said.

Meanwhile, the United League of Arakan (ULA), the Arakanese political organisation whose armed wing is the Arakan Army, said at a press conference on September 19 that they would accept Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh if the ULA could establish a relationship with the international community "as a government".

ULA, which controls a large part of Rakhine State, said it is calling for recognition from the international community, including Bangladesh.

Asked how Bangladesh could go about it, Prof Imtiaz Ahmed said there are various ethnic groups fighting Myanmar military for autonomy, and Bangladesh should not be get involved in Myanmar's internal issues.

"Our objective is Rohingya repatriation, stopping any violation of border sovereignty, and a stable region," he said.

If needed, Bangladesh should go for military diplomacy -- something the Myanmar military may be more comfortable with, he added.

Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, said Myanmar's allegation that ARSA is fighting Myanmar military along with Arakan Army is baseless.

"The ideologies of the two groups are different," he told this correspondent from Germany.

He said the Arakan Army is very active in Myanmar and the fighting is basically in Maundaw, Rathedaung and Buthidaung, where basically the Rohingyas used to live before the military crackdown in 2017.

"My strong belief is that the fighting is meant to prevent Rohingya repatriation," Lwin said.

He suggested that UN peacekeepers or other international forces be deployed in Rakhine to ensure security of the state for safe Rohingya repatriation. Bilateral negotiation between Bangladesh and Myanmar is not going to help the Rohingya repatriation.

There should be an international effort, a coalition of regional and global powers, for the Rohingya repatriation to happen, Lwin said.