Bangladesh-Burma relations

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Description: This news service covers Bangladesh-Burma relations, the Bangladesh-Burma border, events in Arakan and human rights violations against both the Buddhist and Muslim population of Arakan. Email delivery of the reports may be requested from [email protected]
Source/publisher: Narinjara News
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: The neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Burma (officially, Myanmar) currently have a ambiguous bilateral relationship. Tensions exist between the two countries due to border disputes and the presence of over 270,000 Burmese Muslim refugees in Bangladesh, however.
Source/publisher: Wikipedia
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: About 432,000 results (January 2018)
Source/publisher: www.via google
Date of entry/update: 2018-01-27
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Description: "In January and February last year, the Myanmar Armed Forces launched two attacks in Arakan State. But the result was not good. 19 soldiers of the Myanmar army were killed by the Arakan forces. The Myanmar forces were forced to retreat after being chased. Myanmar also fired two mortar shells along the Thai border. The Thai government has not responded but is monitoring the matter. A few days ago, Myanmar fired mortar shells on the Bangladesh border. Bangladesh government protested strongly on two occasions. Let’s talk about Arakan. AA is an insurgent group based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Established on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by Commander in Chief Major General Toan Marat Naing and Vice Deputy Commander Brigadier General Neo Toan Aung. In the Kachin conflict, the AA fought alongside the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) against the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces). Most AA soldiers were originally trained at the KIA Military Academy. Since 2014, AA has established its own training camp in Rakhine state. According to Myanmar Peace Monitor, the AA had more than 1,500 troops in 2014, including personnel stationed in Rakhine state near Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh. Irrawaddy said in September 2015 that the civilian wing of the AA has more than 2,500 soldiers and 10,000 personnel. In January 2020, the AA chief claimed that the group had more than 30,000 soldiers. 14 The Arakan Army (AA) was formed on 10 April 2009 with its political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA). It describes Kachin State as the ‘temporary headquarters’ of Laizai. After training the young Arakan Army troops on 11 December 2011, the group planned to return to Arakan State and fight for self-determination. However, the outbreak of war in Kachin State in June 2011 rendered them incapacitated. As a result, with the support of the KIA, they took up arms against the Myanmar army. In 2014, AA launched another operation in Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border and another near the Thai-Myanmar border. As a result, it has become much stronger and its combat capabilities have been positively affected. In February 2015, the AA fought the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic armed group, and its ally, the Taeng National Liberation Army (TNLA), in their clash with the Myanmar Army. Hundreds of Tatmadaw soldiers are reported to have been killed in the clash. On August 27, 2015, clashes broke out between the AA and the Bangladesh Border Guard Force. Both sides exchanged fire near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Bara Modak area of ​​Thanchi in Bandarban district. On August 20, 2015, the Arakan Army Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) clashed. Ten of their horses were then seized by the BGB. The Arakan Army ostensibly advocates self-determination for the multi-ethnic Arakanese population, the protection and promotion of the national identity and cultural heritage of the Arakan people, and the ‘national dignity’ and best interests of the Arakan people. In an interview with Arakha Media (AKK) conducted in August 2021, the Commander-in-Chief of the Arakan Army clearly stated that the political objective of the armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of Arakan. There has been no bargaining and there won’t be in the future. This is about Arakan Myanmar is an unstable country. There have been repeated military coups. Democracy has been blocked. The image of the military junta’s seizure of power has been written on Myanmar’s chest again and again. The history of persecution of minorities is also old in Myanmar. Since 1990, several countries including China, Russia and Ukraine started providing military support to Myanmar. China sells huge number of weapons to Myanmar to keep India under pressure. “Stockholm International Peace Research Institute” and “Global Firepower.com” sources say that the size of the Myanmar army is 516,000, including 46,000 regular and 1,10,000 reserve soldiers. In addition, Myanmar has a total of 264 military aircraft including 127 warplanes, 86 helicopters including 9 attack helicopters, 886 sophisticated tanks, 4 thousand 212 different types of missiles, 1 thousand 200 armored military vehicles, at least 200 missiles in air defense, 392 gun systems, 1200 anti-tank weapons, A total of 155 warships including 27 naval frigates, 40 patrol craft. Since the 1990s, Myanmar has focused on arms procurement. Even after signing the disarmament agreement, they have not stopped buying arms. On the contrary, it has become easier for Myanmar to buy weapons since 2012. In the meantime, Russia, China, Israel, Ukraine, India, Belarus, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland and other countries have sold a large number of weapons to them. China has already given Myanmar the most cooperation in the purchase of military equipment. They have sold the most warplanes, warships and ammunition to Myanmar. Russia and Ukraine are not far behind. Russia sold land-launched missiles to Myanmar. Ukraine has sold warships. On the other hand, Israel has sold tanks and armored personnel carriers. Al Jazeera published a news about it. According to their data, Myanmar bought the most aircrafts from China 120, Russia 64 and Poland 35. Russia (2971), China (1029) and Belarus (102) sold the most missiles to Myanmar. China (21), India (3) and the former Yugoslavia (3) have sold naval warships to Myanmar. China (125), Serbia (120) and Russia (100) sold various types of ammunition, artillery. Armored vehicles and tanks were sold by China (696), Israel (120) and Ukraine (50). Although Myanmar has a radical attitude, its military tactics are of poor quality. The power base is also weak. Many say Myanmar is playing war games. Wants to participate in this game with Bangladesh. But Bangladesh is a peaceful country. Bangladesh does not want to engage in war with any country. Bangladesh policy is to maintain friendship with everyone. Therefore, it is not right to think of Bangladesh as weak. Bangladesh armed forces are now world class. Bangladesh’s infantry is so advanced that it is one of the top nations in the world. It would be extremely foolish for Myanmar to think that the armed forces of Bangladesh are weak..."
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Source/publisher: Eurasia Review
2022-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2022-09-12
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Description: "The power shift in Myanmar and the subsequent polarization among the major powers triggered a new geopolitical flashpoint in Bangladesh’s strategic backyard, which the latter cannot afford to ignore. It seems that the USA and other western countries are taking a heavy-handed approach while other big powers, such as Russia, China, India, and Japan, have started explicitly or covertly normalizing their relations with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military). Myanmar always gets priority in Bangladesh’s economic and security strategy. Although democratic Bangladesh has a moral dilemma in supporting the military government, it has yet to formally condemn the military coup or demand Aung San Su Kyi’s release. It underscores Dhaka’s careful support for the junta’s “one-Myanmar government policy.” So, in foreign policy circles, the immediate discussion is whether Dhaka’s stance is a “well-thought-out approach or simply a premature polarization.” - Advertisement - In-depth analysis suggests that Bangladesh’s stance has stemmed from some very specific strategic considerations. First, Bangladesh is well aware that sanctions and condemnation, a typical western practice, are counterproductive in Myanmar as long as China and Russia continue to extend their diplomatic and military shields. Second, the previous NLD government failed to facilitate Dhaka’s long-expected connectivity, border security, or Rohingya crisis issues. Third, Dhaka seeks to develop cozy relations with Myanmar’s army based on a non-confrontational and non-interference approach. So, it doesn’t want to enrage the Tatmadaw by taking part in a smear campaign that would not even address the country’s core security concerns. Given the rapidly changing geo-political dynamics, it is not strange to predict that major powers like China, India, Russia, and Japan will remain on the Myanmar military’s side, underlining their own strategic narratives. It will undoubtedly give the military a chance to consolidate its grip on the country as well as its diplomatic status and military position. With a recent resumption in diplomatic exchanges, China is warming up its historical “Pauk-Phaw” (sibling) ties with Myanmar. It has begun to normalize relations with the State Administration Council, mainly to secure its strategic infrastructure projects that would give Beijing a vital gateway to the Indian Ocean. Despite the fact that Russia, one of Myanmar’s largest arms suppliers, has no pressing geostrategic imperatives in Myanmar, it has been trying to diversify its cooperation with the country to increase its investment portfolio. Besides, the China-Russia axis is expected to play a more active role in the centre of the Indo-Pacific to offset expanding western dominance. Although India and Japan, two QUAD allies, feel uncomfortable doing business with a military regime, they will avoid the West-centric coercive measures and instead follow a “twin-track diplomacy” to engage with military administrations as well as pro-democracy forces. Apparently, the key strategic reason for this stance is to avoid alienating Myanmar and pushing it towards China’s lap. In a nutshell, Bangladesh is trying to reorient its Myanmar policy in light of the regional power setting and the army’s new rule in Naypyidaw. Pursuing a multi-dimensional approach of engagement with the Myanmar govt. and convincing them to address security concerns could be a viable strategic option for Bangladesh right now. This is how Bangladesh finds its major strategic and development allies, who wield meaningful leverage over Myanmar, are on the Tatmadaw side. So, based on a rational calculation of interests, aligning with the National Unity Government (which is in exile to boot), which holds no solid territory and no de jure recognition from any foreign government, would have negative ramifications for Burma-Bangladesh ties. No doubt, finding an early and sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis is a “top priority” issue for Bangladesh right now. But policy analysts acknowledge that this protracted issue has become more complicated and would require a “consultative and constructive approach” between the two governments, along with international stakeholders. - Advertisement - In this case, Bangladesh would have to deal with the Myanmar military even if it is governed by people’s representatives because the 2008 Constitution places the military in a central position in the government with complete authority over the ministries of defence, home, and border affairs. As a result, any attempt to solve the crisis without the active cooperation of the country’s military would be futile. It’s worth remembering that, Bangladesh has repatriated Rohingya twice, in 1978 and 1992, through dialogue and diplomacy with the military regime. So, Dhaka doesn’t see any problem with keeping its communication channels with the Burmese generals open to manoeuvre a step-by-step crisis-resolution model. Both countries are wary of the Arakan Army’s growing control over Rakhine state, as well as the resurgence of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which has been accused of several violent attacks on Myanmar’s police outposts, as well as the murder of Mohib Ullah, an influential Rohingya community leader. ARSA is believed to have a political agenda to prevent Rohingyas from returning home, prolonging the crisis. Furthermore, it is easy to speculate that the 270-km Bangladesh-Myanmar border would be a hotspot for cross-border insurgencies and crimes due to the persistent security crisis in Rakhine and its proximity to the Golden Triangle. As a result, Bangladesh might consider that collaborating with the military administration is the only tactical option for combating escalating drug and arms smuggling and human trafficking. Another main strategic objective of Bangladesh is to materialize its look-east policy by connecting itself with China and the ASEAN countries via Myanmar. Bangladesh has also been eyeing joining the ASEAN bloc and the India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway initiative. Therefore, Bangladesh ought to convince Myanmar’s central government to draw up plans for access to each other’s markets as well as regional markets to face the post-LDC challenges. Despite past strained ties, Bangladesh’s military chiefs have traditionally paid goodwill visits to Myanmar, seeking to develop a more meaningful relationship from a security standpoint. What is important to note is that Bangladesh was among only eight countries that sent their defence attachés to attend the Myanmar Armed Forces Day parade in Naypyitaw in March 2021, a month after the coup, prompting Min Aung Hlaing to consider Dhaka one of his allies. Very evidently, Dhaka doesn’t want to close the door of negotiation with the new military administration. Tatmadaw’s recent participation in ASEAN Military Intelligence and Chiefs of Defence Forces Meetings, as well as in the Indian Navy’s largest multilateral exercise, MILAN 2022, along with those of the QUAD members, may pave the way for other countries to adopt military diplomacy to address political and diplomatic concerns. Bangladesh might calculate that very intense engagement in the security domain through security dialogue and cooperation, joint exercises and training, staff-to-staff meetings, and intelligence sharing will forge meaningful ties to tackle major challenges such as the Rohingya crisis, insurgency, transnational crime, and other non-traditional security threats. In a nutshell, Bangladesh is trying to reorient its Myanmar policy in light of the regional power setting and the army’s new rule in Naypyidaw. Pursuing a multi-dimensional approach of engagement with the Myanmar govt. and convincing them to address security concerns could be a viable strategic option for Bangladesh right now..."
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Source/publisher: Pakistan Today
2022-05-15
Date of entry/update: 2022-05-16
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Description: "SITUATION AT A GLANCE: 1 MILLION People in Need of Humanitarian Assistance in Burma UN – January 2021.....106,000 IDPs in Protracted Displacement in Burma’s Kachin and Northern Shan UN – March 2021.....126,000 IDPs—Originally Displaced in 2012—in Burma’s Rakhine IDP Sites UN – March 2021.....99,000 IDPs Displaced by Burmese Military–AA Fighting in Rakhine and Chin UN – March 2021.....884,041 Refugees in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar UNHCR – February 2021......A major fire in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District displaces more than 10,000 Rohingya refugee households in late March. In response, USG partners deliver food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and WASH assistance to affected households. Violence and in security in Burma escalate following the February 1 Burmese military coup d’état against the civilian government. The UN, USG, and humanitarian organizations call for an immediate end to violence against civilians. Clashes between Burmese military forces and ethnic armed organizations in Kachin, Kayin, and Shan generate additional displacement and humanitarian needs.....KEY DEVELOPMENTS: USG Partners Respond to Major Fire in Bangladesh Refugee Camps A fire of unknown origin spread across three Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District on March 22, resulting in 11 deaths and approximately 600 injuries, according to the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG). The fire displaced more than 10,000 households and damaged approximately 1,600 facilities providing services for refugees and host community members, directly affecting more than 48,000 people. As of April 5, an estimated 12,500 people remained displaced as a result of the fire, while approximately 32,500 individuals had returned to the camps they previously resided in, the ISCG reports. As of April 15, a total of 84 fires had erupted in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in 2021, surpassing the 82 fires recorded during the entirety of 2020. In response to heightened humanitarian needs following the March 22 fire, humanitarian organizations— including U.S. Government (USG) partners—are delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance to affected households in Cox’s Bazar. USAID/BHA partner the UN World Food Program (WFP) had distributed approximately 1.3 million prepared meals, more than 92,000 gallons of safe drinking water, and an estimated 15,200 rations of High Energy Biscuits to fire-affected households as of April 12, while State/PRM partner the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had provided approximately 317,000 gallons of safe drinking water and 11,000 jerry cans to affected households. In addition, USG partner the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) established temporary child-friendly spaces and nutrition screening sites and provided access to emergency latrines for more than 23,000 people, while USG partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has distributed more than 8,000 hygiene kits, in addition to providing health services, psychological first aid, and shelter assistance to vulnerable individuals. State/PRM partner the UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reached more than 9,500 individuals with psychological first aid. Moreover, the UN released $14 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund for relief agencies to provide multi-sector assistance for approximately 82,000 people, and the European Union also announced $588,000 in emergency funding to provide emergency shelter support and WASH assistance to households affected by the fire..."  
Source/publisher: United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-25
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Sub-title: While stating that he has written to his counterpart in Myanmar in this regard, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh wants to initiate the repatriation of Rohingyas this year.
Description: "Bangladesh has written to Myanmar over the issue of repatriation of Rohingya Muslims. The announcement by Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen comes days after the UNGA passed a resolution in this regard. While addressing a press briefing on Sunday, AK Abdul Momen said he wrote a letter to his counterpart in Myanmar on the occasion of the New Year. "In the New Year, a letter has been sent to the State Council office in Myanmar," Momen said. "Japan will also cooperate with us in the Rohingya repatriation. Japan has a huge investment in Myanmar. India and China are also working on the Rohingya repatriation. They all want a solution to this crisis," Momen said in response to a question. Bangladesh wants to implement the repatriation process this year, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told journalists. He went on to add, "You know for many years, we have been trying this. After the start of the campaign in Rakhine on August 25, 2016, Rohingyas came to Bangladesh over a period of seven months and took refuge. Four lakh more Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh since." The government of Myanmar, in the face of international pressure, signed an agreement with Bangladesh in this regard in 2016. However, the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims is yet to begin. Referring to Myanmar's role in the repatriation, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Momen said, "You have repeatedly said that they will not go. You are saying that you will do it in a helpful environment so that it goes smoothly. But progress has been done. For this, political goodwill is needed. In the New Year, we hope you keep your word."..."
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Source/publisher: "India Today" (India)
2021-01-04
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-04
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Description: "Bangladesh is interested in joining the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) trilateral highway to enhance connectivity with Southeast Asia, which would open a new chapter in trans-border corridors in the Indo-Pacific region. Dhaka’s expressed interest to join IMT — at a time when Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar or BCIM has made scant progress — during prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s virtual summit with her counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday. She sought India’s support to enable Bangladesh to join the initiative, according to the joint statement issued at the end of the summit. The IMT highways is aimed at opening land gate to ASEAN and boost trade and commerce. India has also proposed extending the highway to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. India has undertaken two projects in Myanmar under the 1,360-km IMT project that starts from Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar. These are construction of the 120-km Kalewa-Yagyi road sections to highway standard and upgrading of 69 bridges and approach roads on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa road section of 150 km. Bangladesh also wants trucks with its goods to enter Bhutan and Nepal through India and Hasina sought cooperation from Modi in this regard at the summit in what would promote Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) road connectivity as part of sub-regional cooperation, ET has learnt. At the summit Bangladesh and India discussed ways of cooperation to expand transportation solutions within BBIN region, apart from cooperation in cross-border energy trade. To facilitate better connectivity and simplify movement of passengers and goods between both the countries, both leaders agreed to an early operationalization of the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement through expeditious signing of the Enabling MoU for Bangladesh, India and Nepal to commence the movement of goods and passengers, with provision for Bhutan to join at a later date..."
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Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
2020-12-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-01-03
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Description: "The spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has presented new challenges for existing humanitarian response operations in Burma and in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District due to COVID-related access restrictions and the vulnerability of IDPs in Burma, as well as refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar. As armed clashes intensify in Burma’s Chin and Rakhine states, COVID-19-related restrictions have further reduced humanitarian access to IDP sites, and humanitarian staff in Burma have expressed concern regarding insufficient COVID-19 preparedness and response capacity in conflict-affected states. As of June 23, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided more than $245 million in FY 2020 funding to continue the response to humanitarian needs of crisis-affected populations in Burma and Bangladesh, including COVID-19-specific funding, and USG partners have adapted existing programming to incorporate COVID-19 mitigation measures to ensure the continued provision of critical assistance..."
Source/publisher: USAID ( Washington, D.C.,)
2020-06-23
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-24
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Description: "Dhaka will urge New Delhi to stop entry of Indian and Myanmar nationals into Bangladesh through the Indo-Bangla border and also maintain the 4,096-kilometer long border in accordance with the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP). A meeting of the Director Generals (DGs) of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Border Security Force (BSF) of India will be held in New Delhi today (Wednesday), according to a press release issued by the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of the BGB yesterday. “Intrusion of border and illegal trespass by the BSF personnel, Indian and Myanmar citizens would be discussed in the meeting,” the release said. The bilateral six-day talks is going to be held at a time while a number of people in different provinces in India are protesting against India’s controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The chiefs of the two border forces will also discuss ways to further improve the management of the porous 4,096-km border between the two countries. The Bangladesh side will also call upon the Indian side to take necessary steps to prevent the smuggling of arms, explosives, drugs like yaba, phensidyl, heroin and other contraband items into Bangladesh from India. Dhaka is also expected to call upon the BSF to take back the Indian nationals who had completed their prison term in different jails after being charged with various criminal offences in Bangladesh, government sources said. The government has identified a number of problems concerning the border areas, including the age-old dispute of rivers changing their courses, sheltering of criminals or miscreants in the border areas and the BSF’s interception of development work inside Bangladesh. The DG of the BGB is likely to tell his Indian counterpart that the Bangladesh-India joint border guidelines should be followed in letter and spirit in resolving any problem that may crop up along the border of the two neighbouring countries. Major General Md Shafeenul Islam will lead the 11-member delegation, while the BSF’s DG Vivek Johri will lead the seven-member team during the meeting..."
Source/publisher: "The Independent" (UK)
2019-12-25
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-13
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Sub-title: Illegal immigration, border crimes, joint patrolling to be highlighted in 5-day conference, says press release
Description: "A high-profile border conference between the border security forces of Bangladesh and Myanmar began in the former's capital Dhaka on Sunday. Issues of bilateral interest, such as illegal entering of Myanmar's citizens into Bangladesh, curbing smuggling especially narcotics, combating border crimes including terrorist activities and launching combined patrolling in common borders will be highlighted in the five-day conference, according to a press release by the Border Guard Bangladesh on Sunday. Sensitive issues, including exchange of detained members of border security forces of both countries who entered into the other's territory, either during rough weather or "involuntarily", controlling firing by Myanmar's Border Guard Police or army in border areas, and exchanging information for border safety will also be discussed in the conference, it added. Myanmar's eight-member team, led by the country's Chief of Police General Staff Brig. Gen. Myo Than, has taken part in the conference, while Maj. Gen. Md Shafeenul Islam, the head of BGB, is leading the 14-member team of Bangladesh, it added..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
2020-01-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-06
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Description: "Myanmar Navy handed them over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard at the waterline on Friday night, Lieutenant Commander M Hamidul Islam, the force’s spokesman, told bdnews24.com. They were under the coastguards’ custody now and it would take some time to transfer them to their families, Hamidul said. They are from Chattogram, Bhola, Munshiganj and Chandpur districts. On Thursday, Myanmar Navy detained the fishermen in the country’s waters near Saint Martin's Island of Bangladesh, according to Hamidul. “The boat’s engine went out of order while the fishermen were fishing in the Saint Martin’s area last night. At one point, the boat was captured when it drifted into the Myanmar territory.” The authorities later made efforts to bring them back through discussion with Myanmar officials, said Hamidul..."
Source/publisher: "bdnews24.com" (Bangladesh)
2019-12-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-12-07
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Description: "Members of the Bangladesh Coast Guard have arrested 16 Myanmar fishermen and seized two boats from the Bay of Bengal in Cox's Bazar. They were apprehended nearby St Martin's Island in the maritime boundary of Bangladesh early Friday. Lt Saad Mohammed Taim, Coast Guard commander at the St Martin's station, said the fishermen were detained for illegally fishing in Bangladeshi waters. They are the residents of Myanmar's Akyab district, he said, adding that the seized boats were handed over to Teknaf police station..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
2019-11-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-30
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Description: "In October, Myanmar exported onion worth nearly 700,000 US dollars to Bangladesh, according to Maungdaw Border Trade Camp. Myanmar exported 180 tons of onion worth 79,950 US dollars to Bangladesh via Maungdaw Border Trade Camp in September and 1,175 tons of onion worth 696,600 US dollars in October. In October, Myanmar exported 319 tons of Rohu worth 294,355 US dollars and 46 tons of dried fishes worth 28,935 US dollars. Thar Tun Sein, an in-charge of the Maungdaw Border Trade Camp said: “We have to ship onion by three vessels a day. Sometimes, we ship onion by five vessels. On November 3, we exported around 75 tons of onion. The export volume is not regular. The onion-loaded trucks arrive in the border trade camp every day. The most export item is onion with more than 1,000 tons.” Currently, Myanmar exports 40 to 80 tons of onion via Maungdaw border trade jetty a day. Despite the arrival of onion at Maungdaw border, the onion price is still high. The price of onion increased from Ks 1,500 in October to Ks over 2,000 per viss in early November. Likewise, Myanmar exports onion via Sittwe Border Trade..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
2019-11-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-18
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Sub-title: Nay Pyi Taw must act decisively to address real causes, Dhaka says rejecting baseless accusation
Description: "Bangladesh has reacted sharply on Myanmar's persistent campaign to mislead the international community with fabricated information, misrepresentation of facts, unsubstantiated claims and undue accusations. Dhaka made it clear that Nay Pyi Taw is doing so to avoid its obligations for the sustained repatriation and reintegration of the forcibly displaced Rohingya in safety and dignity, reports UNB. Myanmar must act decisively to address the real causes that are preventing the displaced Rohingya from going back voluntarily, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' External Publicity Wing on Wednesday. It is a matter of utter dismay to witness the persistent campaign on the part of the Government of Myanmar to mislead the international community, it added. Bangladesh recently noticed yet another round of such attempts by Myanmar Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin. He resorted to misrepresentation of the whole issue as well as laying unjustified blames on Bangladesh in his effort to refute the well-founded remarks by Bangladesh Foreign Minister on Rohingya crisis at the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting of the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on October 23 in Baku, Azerbaijan..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
2019-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-08
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Sub-title: Joseph Allchin looks at Bangladesh's travails with extremism and politics in his book 'Many Rivers, One Sea: Bangladesh and the challenge of Islamist Militancy'.
Description: "The Awami League government in Dhaka had been jittery about Rohingya militancy in Myanmar in the years leading up to 2017’s vast exodus. The government saw it as a potential nuisance, and seemed suspicious of those wanting to work with the group. Sheikh Hasina personally stated in 2012 that the Rohingya issue ‘is not our responsibility.’ They were especially wary of international Islamic charities, and banned Muslim Aid and Islamic Relief among others, because they were believed to ‘encourage radicalism and provide funds to militants, and we cannot let them do so with Rohingyas.’ However, once the magnitude of the exodus became apparent, Muslims and non-Muslims both inside and outside Bangladesh were horrified by the human suffering, Islamist organisations not least among them..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Huff Post" (USA)
2019-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Arakan (Burma), Th eravada Buddhism, colonial history, ethnic identity, monastic historiograp
Topic: Arakan (Burma), Th eravada Buddhism, colonial history, ethnic identity, monastic historiograp
Description: "Th ere is an abundance of scholarly material on the relation between the temporal and the spiritual power in Southeast Asian Buddhist kingdoms some of which I discuss in the notes or refer to in the bibliography. Th e latest contribution to the field is Ian Harris, ed. Buddhism, Power and Political Order (London: Routledge, 2007). 2) Steven Collins’s discussion of “kingship and its discontents” in his land-mark Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: Utopias of the Pali Imaginaire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) contributed to a “new vision of Buddhist history” because his analysis leads beyond earlier approaches such as Melford Spiro, Burmese Supernaturalism (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1967), Melford Spiro, Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and its Burmese Vicissitudes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970), and Stanley J. Tambiah, World Conqueror and World Renouncer: A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Th ailand against a Historical Background (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976). Collins argues that “most ethnographies and histories do not make [. . .] a separation” between “Buddhism as constructed by scholars” and the “socio-cultural life . . . lived historically, first in the conditions of pre-modern agrarian states, and then in the context of modernization, nation-building, colonialism and capitalism”: Collins, Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: 568..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
2008-05-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "From 1580 to the early 1640s, the kingdom of Arakan was an aggressively expansive polity in the Eastern Indian Ocean whose very existence depended on constant warfare against its immediate neighbors, the Mughal emperors and the Burmese kings. At the same time, trade thrived and a culturally diverse society flourished at the kingdom’s capital until the late seventeenth century. While focusing on the commercial network and the presence of Bengali poets at the Mrauk-U court, the paper faces the apparently contradictory fact that trade and cultural flowering were dependent on the results of Arakan’s war-driven policies..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
2011-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "An informal trilateral meeting involving officials from China, Myanmar and Bangladesh at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Monday produced three points of consensus on the Rakhine issue. The meeting was presided over by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and saw the participation of Myanmar's Minister of the State Counselor's Office U Kyaw Tint Swe, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, and the UN Secretary-General's special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener. Wang said that since last year, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh have held three informal foreign ministers' meetings, with each of them having made progress, and that a lot of work has been done concerning the repatriation of people fleeing the chaos in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. The conditions for resolving this issue are accumulating and maturing, he said, adding that all parties should further strengthen communication and consultation and push for substantive progress on the repatriation issue as soon as possible. As a friend of both Myanmar and Bangladesh, China is ready to provide assistance within its capacity, he added. The two officials from Myanmar as Bangladesh as well as Schraner Burgener greatly appreciated and thanked China for its substantial and constructive efforts in promoting the proper settlement of the repatriation of people fleeing from chaos in the Rakhine state, and agreed to further seek effective ways to solve the issue as soon as possible through cooperation. The meeting has reached three points of consensus. Firstly, it is the strong political will and important political consensus of the three parties to realize the repatriation as soon as possible. Both Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed that this issue cannot be postponed any longer and should be resolved at an early date..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed during the meeting
Description: "Myanmar has denied all allegations of using landmines along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border areas. Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) made the claim during a regional commander-level meeting with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Regional Headquarters in Cox’s Bazar on Monday. After the meeting, BGB Cox’s Bazar Region Commander Brig Gen Sajedul Rahman briefed journalists at a press conference held at The Central Resort in Teknaf at 6:30pm. Brig Gen Sajedul led the BGB delegation while BGP 1 Brig Gen Ming Tu led a 14-member Myanmar delegation. “They (BGP) said they did not implant any landmines or improvised explosive device (IED) in the common border areas with Bangladesh. However, they told us that they would inform their government about the matter once they go back to Myanmar,” the BGB commander said. “The Myanmar delegation was asked to cooperate with Bangladesh to stop yaba pills from entering into Bangladesh and in reply the Myanmar delegation head assured full cooperation,” he added. During the meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to keep the good relations between the two countries intact..."
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Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
2019-10-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has blamed Myanmar’s “apathy” to onion export during a major Buddhist festival for the rise in prices in Bangladesh after a brief fall.
Description: "Tipu told reporters on Monday that the prices in the domestic markets would esse soon as the Buddhists in Myanmar ended the Probarona Purnima celebrations on Sunday. The reporters sought his comments on the issue after a jute ministry event in Dhaka as onion prices have risen in the capital to Tk 95 per kg. Following government efforts such as sale of onion at fair prices on trucks in Dhaka and raids on warehouses to stop stockpiling, the prices fell slightly after crossing Tk 100 a kg by the end of last month when India banned export to control domestic markets. Tipu said: “The prices have increased because import from Myanmar halted for two to three days due to a religious programme of theirs.” He claimed the problem was “temporary”. “Supplies will resume. We will bring it from other places as well,” he said. According to the government, there is no shortage of onion in domestic markets. So, import from Myanmar should not affect the prices, the minister admitted. “The traders are taking advantage,” he said and vowed “tough measures” against them. Bangladesh produces 1.7 million to 1.9 million tonnes of onion annually. It was importing 700,000 tonnes to 1.1 million tonnes to meet the domestic demand. The importers’ top choice was India as the transport cost is low due to the close proximity. When the prices rose again the last time, traders blamed it on rotting of consignments from Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "bdnews24.com" (Bangladesh)
2019-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Representatives from Myanmar, Bangladesh and China called this week for enhanced cooperation in repatriating Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh back to their homes in Myanmar, saying political will is needed to move the issue forward, media reports said. Meeting informally on Monday on the sidelines of U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen, and Myanmar Minister of the State Counselor’s Office Kyaw Tint Swe also called for the creation of a trilateral working group “mechanism” to oversee repatriation efforts. Strong political will and improvements in the economic conditions of Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state to promote regional stability are needed for real progress to be made, said parties to the meeting, which was presided over by China’s foreign minister, with Christine Schraner Burgener – the U.N. Secretary-General’s special envoy on Myanmar – also attending. Speaking later to Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews, Hou Do Suan – Myanmar’s permanent representative to the U.N. – downplayed China’s proposed new role in the working group, saying a bilateral group already exists in promoting joint efforts by Myanmar and Bangladesh, and that only “sincere will” is needed to bring the Rohingya refugees back. “I want to clarify that the forming of this working group is not a [new] mechanism,” Hou Do Suan said, adding, “We already have a joint working group. “China is just helping us in facilitating the implementation of the agreements we already have,” he said. “Speaking frankly, if we can implement the bilateral agreement for repatriating these people with the real intention to get it done, we will succeed,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "BenarNews"
2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bangladesh?s leader accused neighboring Myanmar of finding new excuses to delay the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya who were forced across the border over the past year, and said in an interview late Tuesday that under no circumstance would the refugees remain permanently in her already crowded country. ?I already have 160 million people in my country,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, when asked whether Bangladesh would be willing to walk back its policy against permanent integration. ?I can?t take any other burden. I can?t take it. My country cannot bear.” ..."
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Source/publisher: Reuters
2018-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2018-09-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Executive summary: "• Failure to move away from fossil fuels, especially coal, may damage the international reputation of the ASEAN countries. Counter to the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) which the ASEAN countries themselves have formulated under the Paris Agreement, the region?s coal-based electricity generation capacity has been expanding rapidly. This may also lead to a large number of stranded coal assets in the future. • All the ASEAN member states have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and signed the Paris Agreement, and nine out of ten have also ratified the Paris Agreement. At least half of the ASEAN member states reacted publicly to President Donald Trump?s announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, criticizing it and/or reiterating their own country?s commitment to climate action. ASEAN has identified climate change as a priority issue since the 2007 ASEAN Summit in Singapore. This declared commitment of ASEAN and its member states to international climate policy can provide a good foundation for joint regional climate policy formulation and action. • However, despite their positive stances on climate change, most ASEAN countries have not taken on prominent roles in international climate policy. As a result, they remain takers rather than makers in international climate politics. ASEAN as an organization stands to gain or lose status by following up or not following up its member states on climate issues, and by member states succeeding or failing to meet their NDCs. The ASEAN Secretariat can fulfill an important function by promoting a team spirit around this status drive. • ASEAN could formulate a regionally determined contribution (RDC) for ASEAN by adding up the nationally determined contributions of the ASEAN member states. This could help create a team spirit related to the NDCs, as well as possible peer review/pressure. • ASEAN could implement several other concrete measures to energize its work on climate change: maintain a focus on the NDCs of its member states under the Paris Agreement; ensure that current and future initiatives under the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) are ambitious and detailed as to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; highlight the vulnerability of Southeast Asia to climate change by publishing and sharing relevant analysis; advocate improved disclosure and reporting of the financial risks of climate change to governments and investors; put climate change high on the agenda of every ASEAN summit; involve and connect relevant civil society and academic organizations across Southeast Asia; facilitate regional electricity trade through the expansion of the ASEAN Power Grid for better handling of the intermittency of renewable energy; promote the accelerated phase- out of fossil-fuel subsidies—which is also a prerequisite for developing trans-border electricity trade in Southeast Asia. • To be successful, climate-related initiatives will need to consider the ASEAN way of conducting business, with its emphasis on national sovereignty, non-interference and consensus in decision-making. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has set an example of common but differentiated capabilities and responsibilities, further developed with the Paris Agreement?s concept of nationally determined contributions, which are precisely that—nationally determined. This approach is highly compatible with the traditional ASEAN approach to interstate cooperation. • ASEAN may be experiencing a problem of collective action on international climate policy: the member states are looking to ASEAN to adopt a stronger role, whereas the ASEAN Secretariat looks to the member states to take the lead and give clear signals. A first step towards solving this conundrum could be for the ASEAN Secretariat to further expand and strengthen its climate policy staffing—which will require funding and capacity enhancement."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies
2017-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2018-03-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
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Description: "The Upper House of Parliament on Thursday heard the Home Affairs Ministry?s 20 billion kyats ($15 million) plan to raise several more kilometers of fencing along Myanmar?s border with Bangladesh and carry out other related work. Home Affairs Deputy Minister Major General Aung Soe told the Upper House session that the money would come from the president?s emergency fund and be handed over to the Ministry of Defense to carry out the work in Rakhine State. He asked the session to make a record of the project, which it did. With the president?s approval, the fund can be appropriated without approval from Parliament..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2017-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Crisis Group?s early-warning Watch List identifies up to ten countries and regions at risk of conflict or escalation of violence. In these situations, early action, driven or supported by the EU and its member states, would generate stronger prospects for peace. It includes a global overview, regional summaries, and detailed analysis on select countries and conflicts. The Watch List 2018 includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh/Myanmar, Cameroon, Colombia, Egypt, Iraq, Sahel, Tunisia, Ukraine and Zimbabwe"..... Myanmar/Bangladesh section of ICG?s "Watchlist 2018": "Violent operations by the military, border police and vigilante groups in Myanmar have forced some 750,000 Rohingya to flee northern Rakhine for Bangladesh over the last twelve months. These numbers represent more than 85 per cent of the Rohingya population in the three affected townships. Significant bilateral and multilateral criticism ? in the UN Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights Council ? has failed to temper the approach of the Myanmar government and military. The UN, as well as the U.S. and other governments, have declared the 2017 campaign against the Rohingya ?ethnic cleansing” and likely crimes against humanity; some have raised the possibility that it may constitute genocide....While relations between Bangladesh and Myanmar are tense, there appears to be little risk of direct conflict between the two countries? armies. Likewise, in the view of Bangladeshi security forces, the possibility of the displaced Rohingya being recruited or used by Bangladeshi or transnational jihadist groups is low. Perhaps more dangerous, ahead of national elections to be held near the end of 2018, is that the presence of a large refugee population could ignite the simmering communal conflict among Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus as well as ethnic minorities, especially in the highly militarised Chittagong Hill Tracts. It also is worth noting that these refugees ? whose presence Bangladeshi politicians privately suggest could well be permanent ? are located in a part of the country where the influence of Hefazat-e-Islam (Protectors of Islam), a hardline coalition of government-allied Islamist organisations, is strongest. The Hefazat was first to respond to the refugee crisis. It has since threatened to launch a jihad against Myanmar unless it stops persecuting the Rohingya. Hefazat has in recent years gained significant influence over the nominally secular Awami League, the ruling party, and now holds effective veto power over the government?s social and religious policies..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis group (ICG)
2018-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2018-02-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: Conclusion: "The actions of the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine State have created a major humanitarian catastrophe, a crisis for the country and a security threat to the region. It has strengthened an ugly strand of nationalism that will be long-lasting and could lead to the targeting of other minorities in the future. The crisis will define Myanmar in the eyes of much of the world for years to come, with hugely negative consequences across the board on trade, investment, tourism. The country has squandered its considerable reserves of global good-will just when it needed them most, as it was emerging from decades of isolation from the West. Myanmar has also put itself at much greater risk of attack by transnational jihadist groups. Priority long-term aims of balancing China?s geostrategic influence and economic dominance in the country and rehabilitating the military?s international image have been significantly set back. The abuses against the Rohingya minority have captured global public opinion, and the uncompromising posture of the government has exacerbated the situation. Western countries almost certainly will re-impose some of the sanctions that had been lifted in recent years. As they do so, they should acknowledge their inherent limitations and approach them in a manner that can maximise leverage while minimising collateral damage on Myanmar?s long-suffering population."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (ICG)
2017-12-07
Date of entry/update: 2017-12-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: About 270,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher: Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: INTRODUCTION: "Emerging geopolitical changes in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) region are unleashing its enormous economic potential. However, if political obstacles, among these littoral states, along with strategic competition between the major powers, are allowed to shape the evolving dynamics, they may not only constrict the region?s economic prospects, but also turn it into one more theatre of conflict. In such a scenario, the key littorals ? Bangladesh, India and Myanmar ? need to leverage emerging opportunities through various forms of cooperation to chart anew the economic geography of the region, and evolve regional mechanisms to manage conflict, a critical condition for regional peace and stability..."
Creator/author: K. Yhome
Source/publisher: Observer Research Foundation
2014-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 156.55 KB
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Description: "As Ankit noted earlier today, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled on the maritime dispute between India and Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal this week. According to news reports, the court awarded 19,467 square kilometers (7,516 square miles) of a total disputed area of 25,602 km to Bangladesh. More importantly, both countries praised the ruling. ?It is the victory of friendship and a win-win situation for the peoples of Bangladesh and India,? Bangladesh?s Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali told a news conference on Tuesday, Reuters reported. He added: ?We commend India for its willingness to resolve this matter peacefully by legal means and for its acceptance of the tribunal?s judgment.? India?s Ministry of External Affairs also released a statement hailing the court?s ruling in Bangladesh?s favor. ?The settlement of the maritime boundary will further enhance mutual understanding and goodwill between India and Bangladesh by bringing to closure a long-pending issue,? the statement said. ?This paves the way for the economic development of this part of the Bay of Bengal, which will be beneficial to both countries.? This is not the first time that India and Bangladesh have peacefully resolved a territorial dispute. Back in 2011, India and Bangladesh reached a bilateral agreement to resolve their disputed land borders This is also not the first time an international tribunal has peacefully resolved a maritime border dispute in South Asia. At the same time it filed the case with India, Bangladesh asked another tribunal to resolve its maritime dispute with Myanmar according to the terms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Myanmar, like India, agreed to submit the case to the tribunal and abide by its ruling..."
Creator/author: Zachary Keck
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat"
2014-07-10
Date of entry/update: 2014-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "AGARTALA and IMPHAL - As a rising number of Rohingya Muslims flee sectarian conflict in Myanmar and take sanctuary in India?s northeastern states, the flow of refugees is putting a new strain on bilateral relations. New Delhi has called on Naypyidaw to stem the rising human tide, a diplomatic request that Indian officials say has so far gone unheeded. Ongoing sporadic violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist Rakhines in western Myanmar has left more than 80 dead and displaced tens of thousands. The Myanmar government?s inability or unwillingness to stop the persecution of Rohingyas has provoked strong international reaction, raising calls for retribution in radical corners of the Islamic world, including a threat from the Pakistani Taliban to attack Myanmar?s diplomatic missions abroad. Fears are now rising that Myanmar-borne instability is spreading to India?s northeastern frontier regions, threatening to spiral into a wider regional security dilemma. At the same time that Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhines clashed in Myanmar, fighting erupted between Muslims and Hindus in India?s northeastern Assam State. As in Myanmar, where the Rohingyas are considered illegal Bangladeshi settlers, the Muslims targeted in Assam are accused of being ethnic Bengalis who have migrated illegally from Bangladesh..."
Creator/author: Subir Bhaumik
Source/publisher: "Asia Times Online"
2012-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2012-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Summary: "In June 2012, deadly sectarian violence erupted in western Burma?s Arakan State between ethnic Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims (as well as non-Rohingya Muslims). The violence broke out after reports circulated that on May 28 an Arakan woman was raped and killed in the town of Ramri allegedly by three Muslim men. Details of the crime were circulated locally in an incendiary pamphlet, and on June 3, a large group of Arakan villagers in Toungop stopped a bus and brutally killed 10 Muslims on board. Human Rights Watch confirmed that local police and soldiers stood by and watched the killings without intervening. On June 8, thousands of Rohingya rioted in Maungdaw town after Friday prayers, destroying Arakan property and killing an unknown number of Arakan residents. Sectarian violence then quickly swept through the Arakan State capital, Sittwe, and surrounding areas. Mobs from both communities soon stormed unsuspecting villages and neighborhoods, killing residents and destroying homes, shops, and houses of worship. With little to no government security present to stop the violence, people armed themselves with swords, spears, sticks, iron rods, knives, and other basic weapons, taking the law into their own hands. Vast stretches of property from both communities were razed. The government claimed that 78 people were killed—an undoubtedly conservative figure—while more than 100,000 people were displaced from their homes. The hostilities were fanned by inflammatory anti-Muslim media accounts and local propaganda. During the period after the rape and killing was reported and before the violence broke out, tensions had risen dramatically in Arakan State. However, local residents from each community told Human Rights Watch that the Burmese authorities provided no protection and did not appear to have taken any special measures to preempt the violence. On June 10, fearing the unrest would spread beyond the borders of Arakan State, Burmese President Thein Sein announced a state of emergency, transferring civilian power to the Burmese army in affected areas of the state. At this point, a wave of concerted violence by various state security forces against Rohingya communities began. For example, Rohingya in Narzi quarter—the largest Muslim area in Sittwe, home to 10,000 Muslims—described ?THE GOVERNMENT COULD HAVE STOPPED THIS? 2 how Arakan mobs burned down their homes on June 12 while the police and paramilitary Lon Thein forces opened fire on them with live ammunition. In northern Arakan State, the Nasaka border guard force, the army, police, and Lon Thein committed killings, mass arrests, and looting against Rohingya. In the aftermath, local Arakan leaders and members of the Arakan community in Sittwe have called for the forced displacement of the Muslim community from the city, while local Buddhist monks have initiated a campaign of exclusion, calling on the local Buddhist population to neither befriend nor do business with Muslims..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
2012-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2012-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 575.47 KB
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Description: "Bangladesh Foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni is leaving for Germany to hear the maritime dispute verdict delivered by the judges of The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). She is scheduled to arrive in Hamburg at 3:10 am Bangladesh time on Wednesday, to be present during the deliberation of the verdict. The ITLOS will deliver its verdict on the dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday..."
Source/publisher: Narinjara News
2012-03-14
Date of entry/update: 2012-03-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 37 years is a relatively long time to build up a viable economic relationship between two neighboring countries- Bangladesh & Myanmar. Let us take stock of what we have institutionally done so far- 1. Before independence (in 1966), an agreement to demarcate land boundary was signed with Myanmar; 2. In 1980, border agreement for cooperation was signed; 3. In 1988, an agreement for demarcation of land section of the boundary north of Naaf river was signed; 4. An understanding to have foreign secretary level annual talks touching on economic links has been agreed to; 5. A joint trade commission was established to discuss trade matters; 6. Talks on delimitation of maritime boundary has now been agreed to.
Creator/author: Ambassador Ashfaqur Rahman
Source/publisher: Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies (CFAS)
2009-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Dhaka, Jan 9 (DPA) Bangladesh and Myanmar Saturday agreed to compromise to resolve a long-standing maritime border dispute in the Bay of Bengal, officials said. The lack of a clear boundary has caused tensions between the two neighbours over offshore hydrocarbon exploration in the bay in 2008.
Source/publisher: Thaindian News
2010-01-21
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Troops on alert as row over oil and gas exploration in Bay of Bengal simmers. Bangladesh?s border guards have been placed on high alert after reports that Myanmar strengthened its security along the 270km land border between the countries. The move came as Myanmar?s government said on Sunday that oil and gas exploration operations in contested waters in the Bay of Bengal had been completed.
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
2008-11-09
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: On the 1st of November four drilling ships from Myanmar started exploration for oil and gas reserves within 50 nautical miles south west of St. Martins Island, in Bangladesh. A South Korean company was awarded the oil and gas exploration contract in that place and two Myanmar naval ships escorted the drilling ships. Three naval ships of Bangladesh went to challenge them but the Myanmar Navy responded by alleging that the Bangladesh Navy ships are trespassing.
Creator/author: Rezwan
Source/publisher: E-Banglades
2008-11-06
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: I have lately been disturbed by two developments. Firstly, at the very moment when ?realism? has lost its post-Westphalian glories and is suffering from disrepute, the stateless people continue to be at the mercy of the state. In the case of the Rohingyas it is even more pathetic for their refuge across the border brought no change to their sufferings. On the contrary, as camped and non-camped refugees, they ended up becoming victims of yet another state power, this time of Bangladesh. Secondly, when the power of the state has been eroded considerably, particularly in the wake of misgovernance and globalization, the state is brought in to resolve the issue of statelessness. Indeed, the Rohingyas were sent home, amidst criticism of ?involuntary? repatriation, with the hope that the government of Myanmar (GOM) after over half-a-century would change its position and make them all worthy citizens of Myanmar. What we have is a representation of a dialectic in the constitution of the state, that is, state as usurper and state as salvation, without of course realizing that the former cancels the latter and vice versa.
Creator/author: Imtiaz Ahmed
Source/publisher: Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka
2001-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 23.68 KB
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Description: This article examines the major catalysts of the surge in activity over the maritime boundary dispute between Myanmar and Bangladesh and explores both the likely avenues for resolution and the resulting implications for the two countries and the region at large.
Creator/author: Jared Bissinger
Source/publisher: The National Bureau of Asian Research, Seattle, Washington
2010-07-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: I Bangladesh?s policy towards Burma/Myanmar in historical context; II The present phase of Bangladesh–Burma relations; III Trade and economic relations 64 IV Conclusions. "...For Bangladesh, its relations with Burma have been dominated by a refugee crises provoked by the actions of the Burmese Army under the military governments of Ne Win and SLORC/SPDC. These crises generated unbearable economic, political and social pressures within Bangladesh thus limiting its room for creative initiatives. These crises also significantly increased Bangladesh dependence on foreign assistance to relieve the burden of the continued presence of the refugees. In the latest crisis, this dependence has led leading donor countries to openly seek to influence Bangladesh bilateral policies towards Burma. On the other hand, it is submitted, that Burma?s general standing in Southeast Asia and in South Asia has greatly improved since 1997, increasing its bargaining power vis-?-vis Bangladesh. Burma?s improved economic position, its greatly expanded armed forces, its relative success in neutralizing the major insurgencies within the country, its close links with China, its admission into ASEAN, have all contributed to Myanmar?s new strength and greater negotiating power. The ruling SPDC is in a position to dangle the promise of trade access to the rich resources of their country before the eager Bangladesh business community. Moreover, the occupation of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok and the holding of hostages was expected to harden public opinion against the so-called ?terrorist? activities of the student supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi..."
Creator/author: Kaiser Morshed
Source/publisher: International IDEA
2001-12-14
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 185.45 KB
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