A.F.M. Khairul
Basher
October 9, 2013
IN the backdrop of
recent violence in Rakhine province, the incessant persecution of Rohingyas has
made news again. Unfortunately, it is becoming all-to-familiar a tale. This
time, majority Buddhist community showed their rage over a news item that a Muslim
shopkeeper had verbally abused a Buddhist taxi driver as he was trying to park
outside his shop. This, political analysts say, indicates how deeply-rooted
communal tensions are and the increasing likelihood of small scuffles turning
into bloody riots.
Bangladesh, having
sea and land border with Myanmar, needs to draw due attention of the
international community to this issue through diplomatic channels. The
Bangladesh government must have means to identify Rohingyas for security
reasons, and deal with the issue considering national interest and the human
rights charter.
On the diplomatic
front, the UN and OIC along with leading countries like China and USA have to
take a diplomatic approach to the Myanmarese government with the help of Aung
San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace laureate, to ensure the citizenship of Rohingyas
inMyanmar.
It is hoped that
the Myanmarese government will amend the 2008 constitution to remove the
inherent role of military in politics and bad laws like Citizenship Law of
1982. One expects that some positive outcome of the constitution review
committee will be forthcoming to solve the problems. Hopefully, the election in
2015 will be fair and free for the people of Myanmar to get a real democracy.
As long as the military plays a role in the politics of Myanmar, it may be
difficult for ethnic groups to live in peace and for Rohingyas to get
citizenship in their homeland.
The writer is a
retired Lieutenant Colonel, and Director (Administration), UITS, Dhaka.
E-mail:
akmbashar52@yahoo.com
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