BD tells Arakan Army to include Rohingya in new administration

The government has conveyed to the Arakan Army that the Rohingya must be included in different positions in the new Arakan Administration in the Rakhine State to prove that they are not in favour of ethnic cleansing.

"We have conveyed this message to them through the UN," said Mr Khalilur Rahman, National Security Adviser and the High Representative of the Chief Adviser, on Tuesday.

Responding to a question, he said communicating with the Arakan Army is necessary as "they are in control of the areas in Myanmar on our border."

"And as a sovereign country we have the right to decide with whom we will contact or not".

He also said that Bangladesh was trying to stop further influx of Rohingya and this message was also conveyed to the Arakan Army.

He noted that the government was not in a position to provide more areas for Rohingya refugees as the environment in the camp area has already been hugely affected due to massive deforestation required for the existing camps.

About channeling aid to Myanmar, he said that apart from the consent of the Myanmar government, there were many other factors needed to be sorted out before taking any decision over it.

Replying to a question on the reinforcement of forces by India on both Pakistan and Bangladesh border, he said that he saw no reason to enhance security capacity on Indian borders as both the countries enjoy good ties.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com