Bangladesh objected to Myanmar describing Arakan Muslims as “Bangladeshi.” Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry told Myanmar’s ambassador to Dhaka, U Kyo So Mo, that these people are not Bangladeshi.
Following the statement, U Kyo So Mo was summoned to Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry and handed a protest note. Dhaka identified the safe, dignified and voluntary return of Muslim refugees from Arakan to Arakan as the only lasting solution to the crisis.
Myanmar’s statement on the return
In a statement dated 17 August, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry announced that more than 300,000 Arakan Muslims living in camps in Bangladesh would be allowed to return to Myanmar after security conditions improved.
Myanmar’s description of the Arakan Muslims as “Bangladeshi” in the same statement prompted a reaction in Bangladesh.
History of violence in Arakan
Clashes broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2012. Thousands of people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the clashes, while hundreds of homes and businesses were burned.
The Myanmar military and Buddhist nationalists launched a large-scale campaign of violence on 25 August 2017, citing simultaneous attacks on border posts in Arakan as justification.
According to United Nations data, more than 900,000 Arakan Muslims fleeing persecution and oppression sought refuge in Bangladesh after August 2017. Satellite images published by international human rights organizations showed that hundreds of villages had been destroyed.
The United Nations and international human rights organizations describe the violence against Arakan Muslims as “ethnic cleansing” or “genocide.”
