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‘High stakes’: India at UN on displaced Myanmar nationals' repatriation
R Madhu Sudan, the counsellor at permanent mission of India to the UN said, "Any instability in Myanmar impacts India directly. The worsening humanitarian situation and incidence of violence have led to the influx of thousands of people from Myanmar across our borders.
India on Tuesday said it has high stakes in the resolution of the issue of repatriation of the displaced persons from Rakhine state of Myanmar, news agency ANI reported.
Emphasising that India is the only country which shares a long border with both Myanmar and Bangladesh, R Madhu Sudan, the counsellor at permanent mission of India to the United Nations, said that India has been consistently advocating practical, pragmatic and enduring solutions to the issue.
"Towards this end, our support has been for the people on the ground at both Cox's Bazar and Rakhine state," news agency ANI quoted Madhu Sudan.
“We commend Bangladesh for hosting million displaced persons in its territory. We believe that it is important for the international community to recognize and understand the humanitarian burden that Bangladesh continues to face and the efforts it has undertaken to ensure the well-being of the displaced persons,” he added.
Madhu Sudan urged the international community to enhance its support financially and otherwise towards the efforts of the Bangladesh government and also assist in ensuring that issues related to radicalisation in the camps and other security challenges are addressed in an expeditious manner.
On May 29, Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen while addressing a conclave in Guwahati had expressed concerns about Myanmar nationals staying in Bangladesh as refugees turning to extremism.
“They are temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh for the past five years and they want to go back to their motherland. Since repatriation has not been started yet, they are getting frustrated and many are getting involved in criminal activities such as drugs and human trafficking, violence and other crimes," he had said.
Talking about the influx of thousands of people from Myanmar across Indian borders, Madhu Sudan said, "Any instability in Myanmar impacts India directly. The worsening humanitarian situation and incidence of violence have led to the influx of thousands of people from Myanmar across our borders. Women and children are the worst affected by the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Restoration of peace, security and stability is, therefore, most important to us."
Madhu Sudan further stressed that India has been a long-standing friend of the people of Myanmar, "We have continued our developmental, humanitarian assistance including in Rakhine state. Recently, we provided over 10,000 tonnes of food grains to Myanmar and granted assistance to alleviate the food shortage situation in the country. We have also given vaccines to Myanmar to mitigate the impact of COVID-19," said the Indian envoy.
In 2017, thousands of Rohingyas fled Myanmar's Rakhine state after armed attacks, violence and human rights violations. They travelled days on foot through forests or crossed the Bay of Bengal to reach Bangladesh, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees stated. Bangladesh's Cox Bazar is described as the world's largest and densely populated refugee camp. According to UNHCR, there are about 11 lakh Rohingya refugees staying in makeshift camps in Cox Bazar.
(With ANI inputs)
