Bangladesh

Rohingya crisis being prolonged by geopolitics

Says foreign adviser
Photo: Collected

Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said yesterday that while the Bay of Bengal holds significant importance for Bangladesh, it also attracts the attention of global powers like India, the US, and China, each of whom has their own strategic interests in the region.

Touhid made the remark while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Bay of Bengal Conversation, 2024, an international geopolitical conference organised by the Centre for Governance Studies, an independent think tank, at a city hotel.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus inaugurated the 3rd edition of the three-day annual conference with the theme "A Fractured World", which is being held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.

Touhid said Bangladesh has been caught in the crosshairs of competing geopolitical interests.

"I'm not blaming anyone; everyone looks after their own interests. But this has prolonged the Rohingya issue, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Touhid said Bangladesh has not received the expected level of support from its major neighbouring countries regarding resolving the Rohingya crisis.

"During the last eight years, the amount of or the level of support that we expected from our neighbours has not been forthcoming."

Touhid said, "The question may arise: Why has China not been forthcoming in resolving the issue on the side of Bangladesh? Because Myanmar remains very important for China's access to the Bay of Bengal. Similarly, India thinks that the Kaladan project is important, and for this project, it has to keep good relations with Myanmar."

The Kaladan Road Project connects Kolkata in eastern India with the Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar, via sea.

"I don't see that this is going to be resolved very quickly and very easily. But one thing I just want to mention here is that unless this issue is resolved, it is going to become an issue for the rest of the world," he said.

Highlighting the growing concerns over the future of the Rohingya youth, the adviser said, "Young generations who have no hopes for the future are not likely to sit idle and watch what others do. There will be a point in time they will become a serious problem not only for Bangladesh but also for our neighbours and people from far away."

Since the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar, widely condemned as ethnic cleansing by the UN, approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar camps.

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Rohingya crisis being prolonged by geopolitics

Says foreign adviser
Photo: Collected

Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain said yesterday that while the Bay of Bengal holds significant importance for Bangladesh, it also attracts the attention of global powers like India, the US, and China, each of whom has their own strategic interests in the region.

Touhid made the remark while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Bay of Bengal Conversation, 2024, an international geopolitical conference organised by the Centre for Governance Studies, an independent think tank, at a city hotel.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus inaugurated the 3rd edition of the three-day annual conference with the theme "A Fractured World", which is being held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka.

Touhid said Bangladesh has been caught in the crosshairs of competing geopolitical interests.

"I'm not blaming anyone; everyone looks after their own interests. But this has prolonged the Rohingya issue, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Touhid said Bangladesh has not received the expected level of support from its major neighbouring countries regarding resolving the Rohingya crisis.

"During the last eight years, the amount of or the level of support that we expected from our neighbours has not been forthcoming."

Touhid said, "The question may arise: Why has China not been forthcoming in resolving the issue on the side of Bangladesh? Because Myanmar remains very important for China's access to the Bay of Bengal. Similarly, India thinks that the Kaladan project is important, and for this project, it has to keep good relations with Myanmar."

The Kaladan Road Project connects Kolkata in eastern India with the Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar, via sea.

"I don't see that this is going to be resolved very quickly and very easily. But one thing I just want to mention here is that unless this issue is resolved, it is going to become an issue for the rest of the world," he said.

Highlighting the growing concerns over the future of the Rohingya youth, the adviser said, "Young generations who have no hopes for the future are not likely to sit idle and watch what others do. There will be a point in time they will become a serious problem not only for Bangladesh but also for our neighbours and people from far away."

Since the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar, widely condemned as ethnic cleansing by the UN, approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar camps.

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