Myanmar amasses troops at border because of govt’s submissive policies, alleges BNP

Myanmar could amass troops along the Bangladesh border because of the government’s weak policies, alleged the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Expressing deep concern about the matter, BNP, the de facto opposition party of ruling Bangladesh Awami League, called on the government to take initiative for ‘intra-regional diplomacy'.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the call while addressing a media conference at the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in the capital on Friday afternoon.

Slamming the government for its role in the Rohingya issue, the BNP secretary general said the weak policy of the government is clear to Myanmar. Taking the full advantage of this, the Myanmar army had the audacity to gather its troops along the international border of Bangladesh and Myanmar. All-out preparation is required to thwart this ill-motivated move.

Alleging that the government has failed to resolve the Rohingya crisis, Mirza Fakhrul further said the whole world has been moved because of the gathering of forces along the India-China border. But the government kept mum when Myanmar has been increasing its strength along the border. All it did was quietly send a letter to the UN Security Council with no effective outcome.

The BNP secretary general also blamed the government’s submissive foreign policy for the lingering of the Rohingya crisis. He said the government has totally failed to take multidimensional coordinated measures to resolve the crisis involving around 1.2 million Rohingyas.

“We are failing (diplomatically) at every level, be it global, regional or bilateral. Because of the government’s submissive foreign policy, the resolution to Rohingya crisis is turning into a more complex problem with the passing of every day. The government has even failed to convince the friendly states to take our side,” he said.

Mirza Fakhrul further said, “Rohingyas are the most oppressed community in the world now. It is a must to establish the Rakhine state of Myanmar as a safe zone under international management to keep this community alive. It would be possible if the government could consolidate its bilateral, regional and global diplomatic initiatives.”

The BNP secretary general also criticised the government’s step to create a chance for permanent settlement of Rohingyas at Bhasan Char.

“We consider this as an international conspiracy. The Rohingya issue has to be presented at the United Nations with due importance otherwise it will create a serious problem for Bangladesh,” he said.