''Suu Kyi’s speech on Rohingya not encouraging'' : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

Interview with Syed Moazzem Ali, Bangladesh envoy to India

''Suu Kyi’s speech on Rohingya not encouraging''

NEW DELHI: Aung San Suu Kyi breaking her silence on Rohingya is “too little, too late”, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Moazzem Ali said. Read the interview.

''Suu Kyi’s speech on Rohingya not encouraging''

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Moazzem Ali



Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 20

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi breaking her silence on the Rohingya crisis in a televised address is “too little, too late”, Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Moazzem Ali has said, adding that there were not too many encouraging signs. Excerpts from the interview:

Aug San Suu Kyi broke her silence finally on the Rohingya crisis. Do you think it was a serious attempt at reconciliation?

Too little, too late. If you recall, the Secretary General of the UN two days ago made an appeal to the Myanmarese leader that it was her last chance to bring in reconciliation in Myanmar. So I read the statement with a lot of interest but did not find many encouraging signs in her speech. She continued to evade the core issue which is of Myanmarese recognition of its own population as free citizens of their own country. We have time and again emphasised the point that the solution to the Rohingya crisis has to be found in Myanmar itself. And necessary conditions must be created so that the Rohingya refugees could return to their land and live there with dignity, honour, security and full democratic rights.

There are certain attempts in the media sometimes to portray them as Rohingya Muslims. It is not true either because in the Rohingya refugees who have taken shelter in Bangladesh there is a sizeable number of Hindus. So it is a question of recognition of the Rohingya people as citizens of Myanmar which is at the centrestage.

From Suu Kyi’s speech it looked like Myanmar and Bangladesh will have a dialogue about the verification process to establish if these are indigenous communities or migrants. Is there a possibility of that?

Bangladesh has offered all kinds of assistance to Myanmar from day one. When that incident happened on the August 24 night, Bangladesh had condemned the terrorist attack. Bangladesh even offered joint patrol of the border so that these miscreants didn’t escape. Myanmar did not accept this. Our offer still stands. We had also offered that Bangladesh would take part in the joint verification process as provided for in the Kofi Annan Commission report. But the question is if Myanmar is ready to implement the report. It is not a full settlement but at least an interim solution to the problem unless Myanmar is able to address the problem once and for all.

Don’t you think Suu Kyi reached out to Bangladesh today for the dialogue on verification process?

I have seen the statement but will wait for a few more days to see exactly how these words translate into action. So far as Myanmar-Bangladesh relations are concerned we still have a resident ambassador in Myanmar as much as they have one in Dhaka. So I will just wait and see how both sides move ahead and reach a solution to the problem or at least try to resolve the problem.

India first saw the issue from security prism and then talked about humanitarian aspect after domestic criticism and pressure from Dhaka. India is now sending aid. Is Op Insaniyat adequate for a country as big as India to help Bangladesh on the issue? 

The crisis that we are facing in Bangladesh today has been termed as catastrophic by the UN Secretary General when he issued a general statement on behalf of all Security Council members. Right now over 4 lakh Rohingya refugees have taken shelter in Bangladesh. This is in addition to the 4 lakh who have been living there for decades.

To accommodate these people my PM has stated that we will give them temporary shelter. We have appealed to the international community for general assistance as well as to use their good offices to put pressure on Myanmar to create necessary conditions. So we are still working on these two dimensions. When the Indian and Myanmarese joint declaration was issued following PM Modi’s visit, it exclusively focused on security issues.

I met Foreign Secretary Jaishankar and did emphasise that this is a huge humanitarian crisis and India being the closest neighbour of Bangladesh as well as a regional player will have to play a bigger role for settlement of the Rohingya issue. Since then I have seen a lot of forward movement. India has issued an updated statement. Sushma Swaraj also spoke to our Prime Minister. Relief operation has been undertaken. What so far has reached Bangladesh is not very substantial but I was given to understand that a more substantial relief aid is reaching Bangladesh by ship in the coming weeks.

Also PM Hasina will have an opportunity to have a more detailed meeting with Sushma Swaraj during their stay in New York. Currently, my leader is meeting global leaders. We count on India’s support to exercise their good offices on Myanmar for the early return of Rohingya refugees.

In the Sushma Swaraj and Sheikh Hasina brief meeting in New York on Monday, did the Rohingya issue come up?

It was a brief encounter and came within 48 hours of the conversation between Sushma Swaraj and our Prime Minister. So this time perhaps they focused on exclusive bilateral issues but there will be more opportunities to interact during their stay in New York.

By when are you expecting second shipload of relief material from India and what is the scale of aid that Bangladesh is looking at here?

I am not looking at the scale of ship. It is India which is sending humanitarian relief material. So far India has sent around 100 tonnes of food and other essential items. I am looking forward to much bigger shipload of goods in a matter of weeks.

India has had close cooperation with the Myanmar army because of border security situation in the northeast. Do you think Suu Kyi’s hands are tied because power still lies with military and if countries like India and China do not press the military, not much can be done?

The Myanmar-India relationship is a subject matter that I do not want to comment on. All I would like to say is that India and China are major regional powers and they should assert their good offices on Myanmar so that they create necessary conditions for the return of the Rohingya refugees, otherwise it will create problems for all of us.

In India there are a few thousand Rohingyas that the Modi government wants to deport on security grounds. How do you look at this? Is this a huge security issue for Bangladesh as well?

As an envoy of the closest neighbour of India, it will be extremely unwise on my part to discuss something which is essentially an internal matter of India. The issue is being discussed among different political parties. Whatever India decides is India’s domain. I would not comment on this particular aspect.

But the macro aspect of the matter is that the influx of this kind of huge population obviously carries certain amount of risk for all of us because these people could fall in the wrong hands who have been trying to destabilise our region in the past.

My Prime Minister’s commitment on the question of terrorists has always been firm and unequivocal. And she has so far shown zero tolerance towards all acts of violence. So we want that we resolve the issue as fast as we can before it threatens peace and security in the area.

There is criticism of Muslim countries that they themselves are not bothered about Rohingyas. How do you respond to that?

It is not true. You have seen the chart that came out in various Indian dailies regarding the Rohingya refugees settled in various countries. Saudi Arabia has 2 lakh, Malaysia has 1.5 lakh. Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan have around 57,000. So they are spread all across the world. Each one of them has done their share. But I want to emphasise is that the solution lies with the Myanmarese authority. Muslim, Hindu, Christian does not matter. The question is how soon we can resolve this issue so these people can live in their country with dignity and security.

What is your expectation from the US and global community on the crisis?

In the UNSC deliberations that took place around seven days ago there was a rare unanimity among the council members, including the five permanent members. We were deeply encouraged at the unanimity of views. Certainly we want that the UN should assert its pressure on the Myanmar government and we should all try to assist them. The Trump administration has already been in touch with us bilaterally. It is a multilateral pressure that we are asking for. We are asking them to play a collective global role to put permanent pressure on the Myanmarese authorities and military so that there is a change in mindset and they accept their own people as part of their society.

Top News

Arvind Kejriwal to be produced before Delhi court today as 6-day ED custody ends

Excise policy case: Delhi court extends ED custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

In his submissions, Kejriwal said, ‘I am named by 4 witnesse...

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

The bench refuses to comment on merits of the issue, saying ...

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

A multi-cornered contest is always advantageous for BJP; it ...

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, wife Gurpreet Kaur welcome baby girl

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann blessed with baby girl

Bhagwant Mann tied the knot with Dr Gurpreet Kaur from Pehow...


Cities

View All