Rohingyas will be given full rights after junta rule: Myanmar's NUG
Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) said it wants to repatriate the Rohingyas with full citizenship and other rights after toppling the military junta that took control of the country through a coup in 2021.
"The people of Myanmar, the revolutionary groups including the ethnic communities are more united than ever today. We will form a federal democracy," said Kyaw Zaw, spokesperson and adviser to the president of NUG.
He was speaking as a panelist at a webinar on Myanmar crisis organised by the Center for Peace Studies of the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), North South University today.
Since October this year, rebel groups have captured hundreds of military bases and towns, mostly in the regions bordering China, India and Bangladesh.
Analysts say deepening of civil war in Myanmar is a matter of serious concern for Bangladesh, especially as over a million Rohingyas are already in Bangladesh and there are more displacement taking place in the bordering Rakhine State.
Also, the conflicting geopolitical interests of the global powers including the US, China and India can make the things even worse.
Kyaw Zaw of the NUG, a parallel government formed by the leaders of the National League of Democracy following the military coup in 2021, said the military over the decades never wanted any genuine repatriation of the Rohingyas.
"As we return to power, we will amend all the discriminatory laws, including 1982 Citizenship Law of Myanmar, to ensure justice and rights of all Myanmar people irrespective of ethnicity and religion," Zaw said.
Asked on the differences in stances of various ethnic groups, he said the NUG will hold dialogues with all the ethnic and other groups and form the federal democracy in Myanmar.
Dr M Sakhawat Hussain, senior fellow at the SIPG, said Rohingya crisis is exacerbating and turning into a regional security threat due to the ongoing internal conflict in Myanmar.
He said Bangladesh needs to have a policy of how to deal with the issues emanating out of the fast evolving situation in Myanmar.
Dr Raymond Kwun-Sun Lau, asst prof at the department of political science and sociology at NSU, said sanctions by the US and its European allies will not change the military junta's action in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, China, which has large infrastructure projects in Myanmar, is making efforts to keep Myanmar under its influence to secure Chinese interests in the region.
Prof Shahidul Haque, Senior Fellow at the SIPG, NSU, said Myanmar is a more crucial neighbour to India as it is the only country that provides a geographical connection to Asean countries through land.
"So, India wants to further enhance its relations with Myanmar," he said.
Dr Mahbubul Haque of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia also spoke at the event moderated by Prof Sk Tawfique M Haque, director of the Center for Peace Studies at SIPG.