No scope for untoward incident along border: Shahriar

Bangladesh remains vigilant along the border with Myanmar and sees no scope for any untoward incident, says State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam.

"There's no scope for any untoward incident," he told reporters adding that security forces are keeping eyes on it the way they always do.

The State Minister made the remarks regarding Myanmar military's visible and suspicious movement close to the border.

He said Myanmar did not inform Bangladesh beforehand about such deployment though there is a practice to share with neighbouring countries.

Shahriar said the national election in Myanmar is approaching and there are always changes internally ahead of any election and this might be part of this. "We also need to keep it in our mind."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh Aung Kyaw Moe and protested the visible movement of Myanmar military very close to Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

The Myanmar Ambassador was summoned to the office of Director General (DG-Myanmar Wing) Md. Delwar Hossain.

Bangladesh noticed suspicious movement of Myanmar military forces on fishing trawlers close to the maritime international border since Friday.

The Bangladesh side asked Myanmar to stop such suspicious movements so that no misunderstanding takes place between the two countries.

Such movement of military along the international border might create panic among Rohingyas living on both sides of the border, sources said.

Earlier, nine countries, including the USA and the UK, said they are concerned by the continued clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine and Chin States and by the heavy toll this continues to take on local communities.

The nine countries are Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Tunisia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.

On the situation in Rakhine more broadly, it is now more than three years since over 700,000 Rohingyas were forcibly displaced from their homes to Bangladesh because of violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military.

The countries urged Myanmar to intensify its bilateral dialogue with Bangladesh to agree a durable solution that enables the safe, voluntary, sustainable and dignified return of Rohingyas.

The countries underscored that accountability is an essential part of addressing the long-term challenges in Myanmar and in creating conditions for the return of Rohingyas and IDPs.

"We stress the importance of fighting impunity and holding accountable all those responsible for violations of international law and abuses," reads the joint statement.

In line with Security Council Presidential Statement 2017/22, they called on Myanmar to accelerate its efforts to address the long-term causes of the crisis in Rakhine and create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary, sustainable, and dignified return of refugees.

The countries particularly encouraged Myanmar to set out a transparent and credible plan to implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission and the Independent Commission of Enquiry.

Bangladesh remains in touch with Myanmar on the issue and Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar also held a meeting on Monday, Shahriar added.