Dhaka – Bangladesh’s new army chief has emphasized “defence diplomacy” as key to resolving the Myanmar border crisis, saying there was no possibility of conflict between the two militaries.
“When two forces communicate with each other, it is very difficult for a force to start a war suddenly. This does not happen,” General Waker-uz-Zaman told reporters at army headquarters in Dhaka after taking office.
However, he warned that, “We do not want to see any provocation. We do not have any issues with Myanmar apart from the Rohingya issue. We want them to take back the Rohingya. Aside from that, I do not see we have any kind of hatred or problem towards them.”
Zaman said the two militaries were in constant contact and were “trying to solve the Rohingya issue in a peaceful way.”
His remarks drew sharp criticism on social media.
Shafiur Rahman, a UK-based journalist and documentary filmmaker with 96,000 followers, slammed the new army chief on X (formerly Twitter) for suggesting the Rohingya crisis could be solved by talks with the very military responsible for committing “genocide” against the ethnic group. He was referring to the deadly crackdown by Myanmar’s military in which an estimated 25,000-plus stateless Rohingya have been killed and more than a million driven out of Rakhine State into Bangladesh refugee camps.
The army chief’s remarks came just days after Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan warned Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA) to stop firing across the international border.
“We will respond to their firing. If we are attacked, we will respond,” state-owned news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha quoted him as saying on June 20.
Outgoing Bangladesh Army chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed said last week that retaliation was an option and the country’s three armed services were on standby.
Bangladesh’s Border Guard and Coast Guard have also upped patrols on the land and water border with Myanmar.
Bangladesh’s navy has deployed warships around St Martin’s Island on the border as fighting in Rakhine State between the junta and the separatist AA endangers Bangladeshi shipping.
Bangladesh authorities would not allow any fresh Rohingya influx but would provide humanitarian mediation for injured Rohingya arriving from Rakhine state, officials in Dhaka said.
