Rohingya solution pivotal for ties

Bangladesh-Myanmar relations will not deepen until the Rohingya refugee crisis is solved, speakers said at a symposium yesterday.

They also asked the Bangladesh governmen t to put pressure on international, regional organisations like OIC, Asean so that they force Myanmar to find a sustainable solution in this regard. Former ambassadors, secretaries, foreign affair experts, and academicians spoke at the programme, "Bangladesh-Myanmar Relations", organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (Bilia) in its auditorium.

"Due to mutual misunderstandings, suspicions, and lack of political will, particularly from the side of Myanmar, the relationship has been uneven," said Dr M Jashim Uddin, teacher of North South University, referring to the Rohingya issue and tensions on the border.  Presenting a paper, he said the refugees started to come into Bangladesh in the late 70's due to ethnic conflict and sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Bangladesh now hosts 28,000 documented and 2-5 lakh undocumented refugees, he said, adding the unregistered refugees were gradually becoming a security concern for Bangladesh and they would soon outnumber the local population of Teknaf.          

Maj Gen (retd) Anup Kumar Chakma, former ambassador to Myanmar; Prof CR Abrar of Dhaka University; M Afsarul Qader, former secretary and ambassador, and Nasrin Khaleque, political officer at the British High Commission, also spoke.

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