Such corridors often become home to criminal activity, foreign military presence
Recent reports citing policy-level sources suggested that Bangladesh had agreed in principle to a UN-supervised humanitarian corridor to deliver aid to Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine State. The foreign adviser to the government appeared to confirm this in comments to the press. However, the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on 29 April categorically refuted the claim, stating that no such decision has been made. However, the reports and accompanying statements have already sparked debate. The Business Standard spoke with experts to explore the challenges, opportunities, and concerns surrounding a potential corridor, as well as the broader Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh.
Dr Mubashar Hasan
Post Doctoral Fellow, University of Oslo
As far as I understand, there are a few key points in this whole discussion.
Firstly, it is about the premise. The interim government is considering the issue, but this is subject to further clarification and discussion. At the same time we should note that while this would be the first official corridor if everything works out, Teknaf has been previously used twice unofficially as a corridor, so this is more like a formalisation of an informal experiment.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The second point is the process. This is where the interim government's decision is becoming questionable. The decision did not involve discussions with other political parties. Furthermore, the foreign adviser said that there were other conditions to acceptance which would not be discussed with journalists at this time.
So, in a way it's an informal consensus, not involving historically important stakeholders like the military, BNP and Jamaat. Since they were not informed, the process has gaps. Additionally, the foreign adviser is not someone who is a formal representative of the people, so he does not have the legitimacy to say that the government will not discuss anything. It is a questionable process, but I do understand that there is a need.
The third key point is the problems that may arise. The understanding for doing this is that it is going to help people who are in need. If I understand correctly, the corridor has to be made because supplies to Rakhine have been closed off. If Bangladesh does not do anything, there will be an influx of Rohingyas to the country. That is the nature of conflict.
If you look at Ukraine or Palestine, people leave during a conflict. We do not want more refugees coming into the country. Since Bangladesh is the next neighbour, there will be a new influx of refugees if the conflict worsens. The government thinks this corridor may act as a deterrent to minimise that risk.
However, there are security implications to this move. In every part of the world that has had a corridor like this, there has been an increase in criminal activity, arms smuggling etc. It may also open up spaces for foreign military presence. The most logical deduction is that the foreign presence could be UN Peacekeepers. If the Bangladeshi military gets engaged, it could start conflict between two countries.
It should also be underpinned that there must be engagements with the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military, if you want to create this corridor. The way a corridor works is that it would officially not be under conflict; it would be beyond the reach of conflict. So, you cannot create a corridor without agreements with foreign militaries.
We should also be looking at alternative options, because this is generally not good news for Bangladesh. There has to be proper conditions for taking in refugees, which we do not have. It is a long shot, but with the UN involved, perhaps the government can use them to diplomatically engage with other countries to take in more Rohingyas.
Lastly, I must urge the country to tread very carefully. This is a really complex problem. Bangladesh is not dealing with a normal state. We are dealing with an authoritarian government that operates like a mafia. It's a syndicate over there. Rakhine is becoming more like Gaza. In light of this, we all need to establish unity, and that is where the government should have done better.
Dr Mubashar Hasan is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Oslo. TBS' Alhan Arsal spoke to him over the phone.
