We express our deep concern over the escalating conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group, in Bangladesh’s border areas with Myanmar. Over 105 members of Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) aka Nasaka have reportedly entered Bangladesh through the Ghumdhum border so far amid a fierce fighting and took refugee to Border Guard of Bangladesh Border (BGB).
They (BGP) are now in the custody of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) and a process is underway to send them back to Myanmar through the foreign ministry. We think the internal war is their (Myanmar’s) domestic concern.
Reports have it that two Bangladeshi people, including a woman, were killed in shelling on a house at Jolpaitoli under Ghumdum union of Naikhongchhari upazila in Bandarban district on Monday. Besides, Two Bangladeshis sustained bullet injuries during the firing between the Myanmar army and armed groups in Tumbru area along the same border area on Sunday morning.
Besides, the sound of gunfights at the border naturally creates panic in the public mind. There has been a fierce conflict between Myanmar junta and the rebel armed groups inside Myanmar over the past few days.
We think that they (BGP) entered our country for protection from the intensity of the rebel assault. But they must be returned to their country as early as possible.
Besides, no more Rohingya should be allowed to enter Bangladesh again as fighting is going on at the border. If the Rohingyas think that there is a war there, they will flee somewhere. But Bangladesh should not allow any further entry of Rohingyas as they have already become extra burden on our society and economy.
Members of BGB should be put on high alert so that no Myanmar national can enter Bangladesh territory following the conflict between the Myanmar military and the armed rebel group. Reports coming out of Myanmar suggest a full-blown armed conflict has broken out between that country’s military, officially known as Tatmadaw, and an insurgency group called Arakan Army, or AA, at the moment.
No more Rohingya should
be allowed to enter Bangladesh
again as fighting is going
on at the border
The armed struggle over the last three weeks and has intensified recently, according to the reports. We fear that like other times, internally displaced Myanmar civilians, who find themselves in the middle of warfare may attempt to cross the border [to enter Bangladesh].
But this time, Bangladesh must not let that happen. We have been closely observing the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state adjacent to Bangladesh.
So, our border guards must remain at constant vigilance there. However, so far no influx of displaced Myanmar people inside Bangladesh has been reported.
Security must be beefed up along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Cox's Bazar as the ongoing conflict has intensified in Rakhine state. Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ and other rights groups dubbed as ‘genocide’.
Myanmar, however, has not taken back a single Rohingya in the last nearly seven years yet while repatriation attempts failed twice due to trust deficit among the forcibly displaced people about their safety and security in Rakhine state. So, the BGB personnel will have to discharge duties with patriotism, honesty and discipline.
Our expectation of the BGB personnel is that they will discharge their responsibilities with patriotism, honesty and discipline. It is urgently needed there for a transition to democratic governance and reinstating civilian rule.
We condemn all forms of violence and call for the protection of civilians and cessation of hostilities. An inclusive solution to this crisis requires conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to exercise their human rights freely and peacefully.
The military’s campaign of violence targeting civilians and political repression must end and those responsible be held to account. We are calling for sustained international and regional attention and coherent collective action to support the people of Myanmar from the attack of junta.