As the only country that shares a long border with both Bangladesh and Myanmar, India has high stakes in the resolution of the issue of repatriation of the displaced persons from Myanmar’s Rakhine, said an Indian diplomat at an informal briefing on Myanmar at the UN Monday.
The informal meeting was held at the United Nations to hear a briefing by Noeleen Heyzer, special envoy of the secretary-general on Myanmar.
“We commend Bangladesh for hosting a million displaced persons in its territory. We believe that it is important for the international community to recognise and understand the humanitarian burden that Bangladesh continues to face and the efforts it has undertaken to ensure the well-being of the displaced persons,” said Indian diplomat R Madhu Sudan at the briefing.
“The international community must enhance its support, financially and otherwise towards the efforts of the government of Bangladesh and also assist in ensuring that issues relating to radicalisation in the camps and other security challenges are addressed in an expeditious manner,” he said.
“Any instability in Myanmar directly impacts India. The worsening humanitarian situation and incidents of violence have led to an influx of thousands of people from Myanmar across our borders. Restoration of peace, security and stability is therefore of utmost importance to us,” Madhu, counsellor at India’s permanent mission to the UN, said.
“As Myanmar’s democratic neighbour, India has been invested in strengthening the democratic process in the country since 2011. We have emphasised India’s interest in seeing Myanmar’s return to democracy at the earliest, release of detainees and prisoners, complete cessation of all violence and resolution of issues through mutual dialogue among all stakeholders,” he added.
At the briefing, Noeleen said in her recent consultation with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Malaysia and India, Rohingya youths told her how they continue to be denied opportunities for education in host countries and fear becoming a lost generation.
The special envoy thanked the Bangladesh government and host communities in particular for the generosity towards Rohingya refugees, who were forcibly uprooted from their homes.
“In August, we mark the fifth year since the beginning of the Rohingya crisis. In the absence of foreseeable solutions, the Rohingya crisis will remain a regional problem with the largest burden shouldered by the Bangladesh government and host communities,” she said.
Source: United News of Bangladesh