Crisis in Rakhine: 'Humanitarian corridor' not discussed

The government held no discussion on the Rakhine-corridor issue with anybody, said a government spokesman on Tuesday.

"We want to make it categorically clear that the government has not discussed the so-called "humanitarian corridor" with the UN or any other entity. Our position is that should there be a UN-led humanitarian support to the state of Rakhine, Bangladesh would be willing to provide logistics support," said Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the Chief Adviser, on his Facebook wall.

Earlier on Sunday, foreign adviser Touhid Hossain told reporters that Bangladesh had in principle agreed to the idea of the UN to set up an aid corridor from Bangladesh to Rakhine on certain conditions.

During his latest visit to Dhaka in March, IN secretary-general Antony Gutteres told the press about his discussion with Bangladesh on such an aid corridor.

Since then, many have apprehended that it is part of a geopolitical design of a major world power and will affect Bangladesh's security and sovereignty.

Even a major political party has commented that a decision on a corridor should not have been taken without consultation with main stakeholders in the country.

Against this backdrop, Mr Alam writes in his Facebook post; "According to UNDP, the Rakhine state is facing an acute humanitarian situation. Bangladesh has a stellar record to help countries in times of distress, as exemplified by our aid to Myanmar following recent devastating earthquake".

Moreover, we are concerned that persistence of suffering may lead to further inflows of people from Rakhine into Bangladesh, which we cannot afford.

We also believe that the UN-supported humanitarian aid would help stabilise Rakhine and create conditions for the return of the refugees back to Myanmar.

Given the present conditions, the only viable route for delivery of aid to Rakhine is through Bangladesh. Bangladesh is agreeable in principle to provide logistics support to the transportation of aid through this route, he said, apparently to clarify the government stance on this issue.

"However, there has not been a decision on the provision of aid to Rakhine. We are in touch with the concerned parties in this regard. In due course, we will consult relevant stakeholders in Bangladesh," he elaborated.

As regards the reports of involvement of a major power, these are pure and unadulterated propaganda, he stated, noting, "We have seen a constant barrage of malicious disinformation hurled against Bangladesh in recent months, which is still continuing. This sort of propaganda is no different."

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com