Take a principled position
The Former foreign secretary explains where Bangladesh stands in two major geopolitical issues facing the country today in regards to Myanmar and Ukraine-Russia
My opinion regarding the Myanmar issue could be slightly different from other experts. I personally believe that nothing will come out of the bilateral talks with the Myanmar regime. There has been no progress in the last five years. There won't be any progress in the next five years as well.
They will waste time and show various excuses but nothing will happen in reality.
Even if something happens, it will be in such a minuscule, fragile shape which actually will not resolve the issue. Say they will take back 50,000 or 100,000 people. But more than 100,000 boys and girls have been born here. So the million-plus number remains the same. And [even] that is also quite unlikely.
Our approach, therefore, has to be multi-dimensional. The National Unity Government (NUG) that they formed after the coup has been officially more receptive to resolving the Rohingya crisis. For the first time, they acknowledged these people as 'Rohingya' in their statements, promised to resolve their problem, and term the army as criminals for the oppression it conducted on these people.
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We cannot just quit the discussion or relations with the Myanmar government, but besides, there should be an informal line of communication with the NUG, and activation of the diaspora – if necessary funding them.
And finally, the Arakan Army is gradually becoming an important player lately. They have recently addressed Bangladesh about resolving the Rohingya issue, but their language was very arrogant.
When the army launched a crackdown on the Rohingya, they supported that because they are Muslim and Rohingya haters. Now they are approaching because they think it would benefit them on the international stage.
It is uncertain if they would ever support the repatriation of the Rohingya, but still, to keep options open, we need an informal approach with them. It cannot be ruled out that someday they might achieve autonomous status for the Rakhine state. Wa State, for example, has taken their autonomy very close to virtual independence.
In such a scenario, it would be convenient to communicate with them in advance, no matter how much enmity they exhibit.
On the Ukraine issue
On Ukraine, I would support the government's position regarding voting against Russia. I do not know if the sudden change of heart was because of any pressure from the West. Whatever be it, it was the right decision. From the very beginning, I have opposed the approach of neutrality, verging on support for Russia. I believe that this is one issue on which we have to take a principled position; a stronger country cannot infringe on the territorial integrity of a weaker country. That, in my opinion, is in our interest.
The Russians got an excuse for what they did, but excuses have no bound. Any strong country can find an excuse to arm-twist a weaker neighbour. We cannot support a stronger nation annexing parts of another country and endangering its territorial integrity - this is dangerous for us. So we have to take a principled position in this regard.
Touhid Hossain / Former Foreign Secretary
Disclaimer: This opinion piece has been written based on a telephone conversation between the author and The Business Standard's Masum Billah.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
