Rohingyas: A Quest for a Sustainable Solution

The effect of the recent ethnic violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state has created a complex situation for its neighbour Bangladesh that continues to face a mass influx of the displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar. In spite of repeated requests from the UNHCR, several countries and human rights groups, the Bangladesh government remains firm in its stance to curb the new inflow of Myanmar refugees, while reaffirming its commitment to deal with the asylum seekers humanely. 

Though the Bangladeshi authorities are providing emergency relief supplies like food, water and medicine to the Rohingyas, it has refused to give them shelter within their territory. The Bangladesh government’s current policy stance stems from the new domestic complexity created by demographic pressure, resource scarcity and concern for internal security.

Rohingyas are an ethnic minority in Myanmar, but are not recognised as citizens by the state despite the fact that they have been living there for centuries. The status of the Rohingyas has been contested in Myanmar and often led to persecution in the past. 

For Bangladesh, the Rohingya refugee influx is not a new phenomenon, having started in 1978 after a military operation in Rakhine named “Nagamin Dragon” aimed at suppressing a Rohingya ethnic uprising. Thousands of Rohingyas were killed in the process and more than 200,000 fled their homes to become refugees in Bangladesh. Another major influx was in 1991, when over 250,800 Rohingyas from Rakhine state took refuge in Bangladesh. 

Through UN support and bilateral agreements between Bangladesh and Myanmar, some Rohingyas went back to Myanmar, but many more chose to stay in Bangladesh. Two major factors might explain this trend. Firstly, the facilities provided by the UNHCR camps were a pull factor that attracted marginalised Rohingyas. Therefore even in the absence of state persecution or physical violence, Rohingyas chose to become refugees in Bangladesh. Besides, Bangladesh being a Muslim-majority country made many Rohingyas feel secure from communal violence.

On the other hand structural reasons such as the lack of opportunities and basic freedoms for the Rohingya community in Rakhine was a push factor that to some extent compelled Rohingyas to get out of Myanmar. While allowing Rohingya refugees to enter, Bangladesh continued to pursue both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to persuade Myanmar to take the Rohingyas back.

 

Lack of human development

and integration

In the context of Myanmar, Rakhine faces a problem integrating the Rohingyas. Rakhine is one of the most backward regions in Myanmar and in terms of human development it is way behind the national average. There is acutely limited access to education, healthcare and public services like electricity. These factors create fierce competition over scarce resources, which often leads to conflict along ethnic lines. 

Like many other minorities in Myanmar, the Rohingya community of Rakhine suffered from persecution by other communities, which the state often failed to address. The state’s policies have often led to widespread destabilisation of the country and gave rise to militant ethno-nationalist movements, some of which have been utilised by transnational terrorist networks. Such movements were often ruthlessly crushed, indiscriminately, by the state. Consequently a large number of innocent civilians became victims of separatist movements and law enforcement operations.

The Rohingya refugees and illegal migrants have changed the demographic profile of southeast Bangladesh. Currently more than 29,000 Rohingya refugees registered with the UNHCR are living in Bangladesh, while 200,000 Rohingyas are in Bangladesh as illegal migrants. Itself one of the least developed countries, with a population density of more than 900 per square kilometre, the refugees add to the mounting pressure on Bangladesh’s scarce resources like land and water.

Bangladesh shares a 271-kilometre border with Myanmar, which cuts through hills, forests, rivers, canals and the sea. That makes border management difficult. The porous border is rapidly becoming a conduit of transnational crime such as the smuggling of arms and drugs and human trafficking.

The Bangladesh-Myanmar border region has been identified by the Bangladesh Department of Narcotics Control as an important point in the infamous eastern route. There are at least 10 factories in the border area inside Myanmar that produce illegal drugs that are being smuggled into Bangladesh. The Rohingyas are recruited as carriers, intermediaries or traffickers.

The Rohingya militant groups are major security concerns for Bangladesh. Among the groups, the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF), Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), Rohingya National Alliance (RNA) and Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) are considered to be the major groups posing a threat to Bangladesh’s internal security. The groups have members, supporters and sympathisers within the Rohingya refugees and illegal migrants in Bangladesh. They have evidently collaborated with Bangladeshi militant groups such as the Harkat ul Jihad al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B). 

Even though the Bangladesh army had almost totally disarmed the RSO by 2005, other Islamist, ethno-nationalist and narco-terrorist groups – such as the ARNO, RNA, the separatist Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA) and the narco-terrorist Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) – are reportedly still around. The ALP often coerces Bangladeshi local communities into growing poppy in the interior of Chittagong Hill Tracts. The RSO and RNA are in league with the DPA and beyond the control of any government.

A sustainable solution of the Rohingya refugee problem depends on how effectively human development programmes are carried out in Rakhine. Years of underdevelopment have turned this scenic border region into a simmering conflict zone, which is creating multifaceted security concerns for neighbouring Bangladesh. As Myanmar moves forward in its transition to democracy. it is time to help the country develop social cohesion through promoting human development programmes and enhancing its capacity for community engagement for building a durable peace. This will strengthen Myanmar’s democracy from within and create a cohesive and integrated society.