How Not To Deal With The Rohingya Issue: Lessons From Bangladesh

News18

3 days ago

Bangladesh must balance its humanitarian responsibilities with hard-nosed realism. Repatriation of the Rohingyas is essential, but not at the cost of sovereignty
As the international community had marked World Refugee Day on 20 June, the spotlight once again turned to the festering Rohingya crisis — a painful reminder of Bangladesh's humanitarian generosity now burdened by geopolitical consequences. Since Myanmar's brutal military crackdown in 2017, nearly 600,000 Rohingyas escaped the carnage in Rakhine and found refuge across the border in Bangladesh. Fast forward seven years, and over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees are crammed into makeshift shelters in Cox's Bazar, still yearning to return to their homeland with dignity and security — an aspiration that remains elusive.
What began as a noble act of compassion by the former government has morphed into a strategic nightmare. Bangladesh, already stretched thin economically, took the Rohingyas under humanitarian grounds, building the world's largest refugee settlement in Cox's Bazar. But the generosity came with a price. Dhaka's persistent call for repatriation was meant to be a long-term fix to a short-term crisis. Yet, repatriation remains a diplomatic mirage, complicated further by Myanmar's internal chaos and the lack of sustained international pressure on Naypyidaw.
The cost of hosting over a million displaced people has proved to be far more than just financial. Bangladesh's social fabric, national security, and local economies are all feeling the heat. The unceasing flow of refugees has strained border security, while the camps themselves have become breeding grounds for illicit activity. Radical networks have infiltrated the refugee settlements, luring disenfranchised Rohingya youth into drug trafficking, human smuggling, and armed violence. In the past two years alone, nearly 150 violent incidents have been reported within these camps—grim testimony to a growing lawlessness that local authorities are ill-equipped to contain.
The security lapse extends beyond the refugee camps. Bangladesh's border dynamics have undergone a worrying transformation. The Arakan Army—a powerful ethnic rebel group fighting Myanmar's junta—has made significant inroads in Rakhine. With the civil war now reaching the doorstep of Bangladesh, the implications are severe. The renewed fighting in Rakhine has triggered a fresh wave of displacement, with over 120,000 more Rohingyas reportedly crossing into Bangladesh in the last 18 months alone.
This comes at a time when donor fatigue has set in. International aid for Rohingya refugees is dwindling, putting immense pressure on Bangladesh's limited resources. Moreover, the Arakan Army's aggressive posturing has not spared Bangladesh either. Incidents of Bangladeshi fishermen being abducted near Cox's Bazar by the Arakan Army have sparked serious concerns about the integrity of Bangladesh's already porous borders.
In the face of this multifaceted crisis, the current interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus has taken centre stage. Since assuming office, Yunus has prioritised the Rohingya issue, intensifying diplomatic overtures to garner international backing for repatriation. In February, Yunus addressed a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, detailing the worsening humanitarian situation and Myanmar's deteriorating internal order. The UN chief responded with diplomatic optimism, promising support to secure unimpeded humanitarian access in Rakhine and beyond.
The high point of this engagement came in March, when Guterres visited the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar. During the visit, Yunus and the UN Secretary-General jointly pledged to begin repatriation by the next Eid (this June). It was at this juncture that the idea of a 'humanitarian corridor" was floated—allegedly a UN-brokered channel linking Cox's Bazar to Rakhine to facilitate aid delivery and eventual refugee return.
However, what was initially framed as a humanitarian gesture soon spiralled into political controversy. A senior representative from Yunus' team revealed that the interim government was engaged in secretive negotiations with the Arakan Army under a UN initiative—an eyebrow-raising move given the Arakan Army's rebel status and the violent unrest engulfing Rakhine. Opposition parties in Bangladesh, including key factions of the Awami League and BNP, swiftly condemned the plan. They accused the interim regime of bypassing constitutional processes, undermining national sovereignty, and risking entanglement in Myanmar's civil conflict.
Worse still, the Bangladesh Armed Forces appeared to be blindsided. The Army chief reportedly distanced himself from the initiative, lambasting the proposal as a dangerous overreach. In a rare public rebuke, he demanded the interim government stop 'corridor business" and urged the announcement of a national election roadmap by December. This friction between the civilian interim administration and the military establishment exposed the widening cracks within Bangladesh's power structures.
In response to the backlash, the interim government backtracked—at least publicly. Officials now claim that the idea of a humanitarian corridor is merely 'under consideration," pending consensus from all stakeholders. They deny any formal agreement with either the UN or the Arakan Army. Yet, many within the political and security community suspect otherwise. Credible reports suggest that preliminary negotiations have already taken place and that the interim administration remains quietly committed to the project.
If these suspicions prove accurate, Bangladesh is walking a tightrope between humanitarian intentions and dangerous overreach. Already, intelligence suggests that some segments of the armed Rohingya community in Bangladesh are preparing to confront the Arakan Army militarily. Such developments could drag Bangladesh further into Myanmar's domestic turmoil, turning a humanitarian issue into a cross-border security crisis.
Even Yunus' foreign affairs advisor admitted recently that the Rohingya situation now presents a 'national security threat." While it's true that repatriation remains the only sustainable solution, the methods adopted to achieve it are just as crucial. Engaging directly with armed groups operating in a war zone, without a clear legal mandate or broad political consensus, risks compromising Bangladesh's sovereign standing and drawing it into a conflict it neither started nor controls.
Fortunately, voices of reason are emerging. Political parties across the spectrum are now demanding transparency and constitutional compliance. There is a growing insistence on announcing the election schedule without delay, to restore democratic legitimacy and prevent unilateral foreign policy adventures. Yunus' ambition to play regional saviour may have earned him temporary international spotlight, but at home, it has backfired. His unilateralism has eroded trust, both within the establishment and among the populace.
As the clock ticks, Bangladesh stands at a critical juncture. It must balance its humanitarian responsibilities with hard-nosed realism. Repatriation of the Rohingyas is essential, but not at the cost of sovereignty. Engaging with armed factions across the border—under the guise of humanitarianism—may turn Bangladesh from a sanctuary into a battlefield. The need of the hour is not heroics, but constitutional clarity and political unity. If handled recklessly, the Rohingya crisis could well transform from a humanitarian burden into a geopolitical calamity.
The writer is an author and a columnist. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
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bangladesh Rohingyas
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Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 27, 2025, 14:56 IST
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