।। Ahmad Alfatah Mugdho ।।
The Rohingya crisis has become a big concern for a developing country like Bangladesh. The Rohingyas of Myanmar’s Rakhine state have been the victims of persecutions by Myanmar leaders for the last few years and the mass killing operation led by the Myanmar military forces started in 2016.
Bangladesh, a developing country of South Asia, has been directly connected to this crisis because when the massacre started in Rakhine region, hundreds and thousands of Rohingya started to flee from there to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
Around 1.1million Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh after 20 October 2017 to save their lives from the attack of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Bangladesh has kept them in several camps though taking care of 1.1 million Rohingya refugees have become a major burden for a developing country like Bangladesh which is geographically small in size.
The crisis needs immediate intervention by international organizations like the United Nations because it is getting worse day by day. Myanmar authorities are not paying any heed to the call of taking back these refugees to their country who became the victim of ruthless mass murder.
The UN and its organ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are pretty much concerned about this huge crisis but the crisis remains unsolved because of not providing any constructive solution to way out of this unending predicament.
There are some probable ways that the authorities can take up to ease down the current situation and move towards the solution of the Rohingya crisis.
Political negotiation: Political negotiation is one of the effective ways for solving this problem which has got international significance. UNHCR can create a field for the political negotiation between Myanmar and the host nation. Political negotiation will pave an effective way for eradicating this crisis. Political negotiation will surely be able to avoid the clash between Myanmar and the world authorities.
Making treaties: UNHCR can make some valuable and profitable treaties with Myanmar government along with Bangladesh government and treaties can be made from the economic perspective so that Myanmar get interested in it. Experts and diplomats will help to make the treaties so that proper and effective ways of solving this huge crisis can come into light.
Resettlement: Resettlement of the displaced Rohingya refugees is another effective way of solving the crisis. These humiliated refugees are being forced to flee from their motherland and they have been treated brutally by the Myanmar military. They are being subjected to all sorts of decay.
So, they should be resettled by the international authority like UNHCR and the host nation alone cannot solve this sort of huge crisis which needs immediate intervention by the international authority.
Repatriation, reallocation in the host nation and resettling in the third country are the three-fold steps by which the repatriation can be done.
Influence of major powers: All the major powers of the world can play salient roles in the decision making level of any international crisis. Their influence can make a big difference in this Rohingya crisis as well. Their influences can surely pose a huge threat on Myanmar to settle this crisis as quickly as possible. Sanctions and threat of keeping Myanmar in isolation can create some noticeable result.
Military intervention: If all the diplomatic and political ways of solving the Rohingya Refugee crisis fail to see the light of hope, then the option which is left for removing this huge problem is the military intervention. Military intervention will be conducted and operated by the international authority like the UN and they will start taking the step by taking the consent from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as they are the supreme power for intervening in any international matter. Military intervention is the highest and extreme as well as the ultimate step for intervening in any international matter. As the other ways have failed, so military intervention is needed to stop this mass destruction.
By the military intervention, the infected and humiliated Rohingya refugees will get the scope to go back to their motherland and human rights will be preserved as well as the international peace and security will be ensured.
Despite the continuous urge of Bangladesh in resolving the crisis, the UN Security Council has only expressed concern about “excessive violence” used by the security forces in Rakhine state, the home to the majority of Rohingya Muslims.
The UN Security Council is recognized for its immediate and effective steps taken in order to maintain the peace and security regarding multilateral or bilateral issues but we see a different scenario in this case.
However, the UNSC has tried its best in order to bring the stabilized situation for both the states and take steps in order to repatriate the displaced people to their homeland.
State level talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar regarding this issue have taken place several times. Myanmar has been delaying and avoiding the talk of taking back their citizens.
The negotiation between two states needs to be continued on a consistent basis otherwise the unsolved crisis will remain like this for a long time which will create so many unwanted situations for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been dealing with the extra burden of 1.1 million people very deftly which must be appreciated, and its prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has set up a role model for the entire world by taking care of the humiliated and oppressed people who came to seek help leaving nothing behind. These proposed ways for solving the crisis can surely alleviate the scenario and the repatriation process will be accelerated.
The writer is a student of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka
