That Myanmar had been in the Chinese fold for a long time has been well known. With the recent support of India - as Modi and Suu Kyi seem to be on the same plane regarding their fight against ‘terrorism’ - it seems neither of the regional powerhouses is likely to put any pressure on the Myanmar regime. The United States would also like to see a Myanmar free from the clutches of China and would not want to strain its relations over petty Rohingyas.
With such big players tacitly backing up a rogue regime, at least as far as the Rohingyas are concerned, Suu Kyi’s government has little to worry about, for now. Myanmar can and most likely will continue its pogrom on its own people to free up the lands of Rakhine for business interests. The obvious escape - and evidently the most desirable one for Myanmar - for the Rohingya would lead them across the border to Bangladesh, where they would at least not be hounded down and executed.
The worst humanitarian crisis in recent memory in this region took years and decades to culminate to the present boiling point. All this time, the Bangladesh government has been quiet, not unlike the present situation. There has been little, if anything, from our government to step up pressure on Myanmar and put a stop to what is tantamount to crimes against humanity. Taking back the Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh still remains a far cry.
Here is another example of a rogue state turning on its own people and carrying out genocide while the world watches without so much as a slap on the wrist for the perpetrators. On the other hand, there is hardly enough international assistance to help Bangladesh deal with the catastrophe. The Bangladesh government, although not officially sheltering Rohingyas with open arms, is at least resigned to the fact that we will have to accommodate them and deal with the crisis as more and more swarm into Bangladesh to escape the systematic pogrom across the border in our south east.
After all is said and done, Bangladesh will very likely have a million Rohingya refugees by the time Myanmar ends its pogrom in Rakhine. In all likelihood, Aung Sung Su Kyi’s government will have got rid of the entire Rohingya population by the time the rest of the world manages to muster enough courage to stand up to the regional powerhouses about serious sanctions and possible charges of human rights violations and crimes against humanity.
Given Bangladesh’s toothless endeavours so far and the drivel that Myanmar has been spewing out, the refugees in Bangladesh will not be returning any time soon. For the time being, Bangladesh looks like a safe haven and we can afford to take the moral high ground. But if we continue to handle the refugee situation like we have, soon enough, there will be criticism about the living conditions at the refugee camps and local authorities will have a hard time dealing with the outbreak of crime in the area. Time we had a sustainable plan.
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