The debate is intensifying over the โPartner Dialogue: High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Situationโ to be held in Coxโs Bazar on August 25 and the UN-sponsored international conference on September 30.
National Security Advisor and High Representative for Rohingya Affairs Dr. Khalilur Rahman has claimed that these conferences will provide guidance to find a โpermanent and genuine solutionโ to the Rohingya crisis. However, political parties and analysts see the conference as a failure of the interim government and a blueprint for handing over important areas of the country to foreign powers.
The interim government has made no visible progress in resolving the Rohingya crisis. Rather, there have been allegations that sensitive areas like Coxโs Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts are falling under foreign influence during this governmentโs tenure.
Recently, Starlink services were launched in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, which has created concerns among the local people. Many see this initiative as a strategy to increase control over foreign powers. In addition, critics believe that the government’s opaque policy on the port and corridor issues is posing a threat to the country’s sovereignty.
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Political parties are holding one rally after another against the plan to set up a UN Human Rights Commission mission office in Bangladesh. They believe that it will pave the way for foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs. A prominent political leader said: โThe interim government is preparing the way for the launch of the UN human rights mission by staging various dramas, which is a threat to the country’s independence and sovereignty.โ
Although the diplomats’ briefing in Dhaka, led by Dr. Khalilur Rahman, spoke of the support of 106 countries, questions have been raised about the real purpose of the conference. It was reported, citing an ambassador, that although the schedule for the Cox’s Bazar conference has been announced, foreign agendas are taking precedence over the interests of the local people behind its organisation.
Critics say that a planned process is underway to hand over Cox’s Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts to foreign powers in the name of resolving the Rohingya crisis.
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Despite the fact that Bangladesh’s efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis are not receiving international support, the government’s failure at the local level is clear. Although it is said that the voice of the Rohingya is being raised, no effective steps have been taken to solve their real problems. Rather, allegations are being made that these conferences are increasing the influence of foreign powers and undervaluing local interests.
Rohingya camps are not only the centre of a humanitarian crisis
For a section of the terrorist Rohingya, the camps have become a safe haven for the arms trade. Sources from the local administration and law enforcement agencies are mentioning the involvement of the Rohingyas one after another. Many crimes, including arms smuggling, buying and selling, robbery, and kidnapping, are being committed in the mountain caves and mobile hideouts adjacent to these camps. The source of the huge amount of weapons recovered has also gone there. The accused are out on bail and are sinking into the dark world again.
The upcoming national elections. The level of arms smuggling has increased dramatically at this time. Concerned quarters fear that these weapons may be used in election violence. Who will benefit from the political instability? Who will operate these weapons? The questions are getting thicker like the darkness of the night. Are the ten hand grenades and detonators recovered in Damdamiya on May 31 indicative of a major incident? No one has been arrested. They are still roaming free, planning their next misdeeds.
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A terrifying arsenal of weapons is being created by a mix of domestic and foreign weapons. Heavy weapons are coming from Myanmar, and domestically made weapons are coming from Maheshkhali. The meeting point of these two streams is the hilly area of Cox’s Bazar. Teknaf and Ukhiyaโthese are not just geographical names; they are now synonymous with arms smuggling. According to the description of the Coast Guard’s media officer, Lieutenant Commander Harun-ur-Rashid, it is easy to imagine how active and how armed the smugglers are. To deal with them, the joint forces have to go into the field, risking their lives.
Additional Superintendent of Police Jasim Uddin Chowdhury directly said that arms-related crimes have increased because of the Rohingyas. Additional DIG Md. Kausar Sikder, commander of the 16th Armed Police Battalion, also spoke in the same tone about the arms trade and misdeeds of the terrorist Rohingyas. The case is going on in the court; the accused has gone out on bail. But is everything changing outside the four walls of the court? Is the mountain of weapons decreasing, or is it increasing?
The shadow of these weapons is not only terrorising the people of Cox’s Bazar or the border; it is spreading throughout the country. Every smuggled rifle, every grenade, every round of bulletsโthese are like landmines buried in the bed of peace. No one knows when, where, or how they will explode. Is this alarm signal reaching the ears of the leaders of the state? Or is it only being echoed in the pages of newspapers and on television screens? The time for effective, visible, and ruthless action to stop this flood of weapons is now. Tomorrow may be too late.
Recently, a group of Rohingya refugees has formed a civil society organisation with the help of the interim government to implement a sinister blueprint.
The refugees elected four men and one woman from Maungdaw and Buthidaung cities in the Rakhine State, who are expected to lead the civil society and represent the Rohingya internally and internationally.
Syedullah, Jahangir Alam, Khin Maung, Shoaib (widely known as Mo Showife) and Sajeda will, according to the agreed framework, share leadership equally through a rotational system, with each serving as president for a six-month term. The first rotation has already commenced under the presidency of Syedullah.
Government’s duplicity on Rohingya
In early 2025, Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government of Bangladesh, announced that Myanmar would take back 180,000 Rohingya in the first phase. However, there has been no visible progress in implementing this announcement. Later, Yunus said that more than 80,000 Rohingya had entered Bangladesh in the past few months due to violence in Rakhine. Later, it was learned that this number was 113,000. These contradictory statements raised questions about the government’s position.
Many are seeing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Bangladesh and his participation in the Iftar ceremony in the Rohingya camp as a political drama. Social media has claimed that this visit and Yunus’s comments have given false assurances of Rohingya repatriation, which have not been implemented in reality.
Then came the issue of the humanitarian corridor in Rakhine. There is clear internal disagreement in the country over this proposal. A section of the army is also opposing the establishment of the corridor, as it could be a threat to the country’s security and sovereignty. One thing to note is that neither Myanmar nor the Arakan Army has asked for humanitarian aid. Although the UN has warned of a famine in Rakhine State, Myanmar does not fear such a thing. Although corridors have been provided in response to the UN’s call, the consequences have been dire. Even in such a situation, the interim government is not revealing what is happening with the corridor.
Who will run this corridor? Which force will protect it? Who will control the border? No clear answer has been found to these questions yet. An open corridor can lead to arms and drug smuggling, terrorist infiltration, and border insecurity. Moreover, this corridor can be used by the United States or the Western world in international diplomatic games, which can pose a long-term threat to Bangladesh’s security.
Analysts say that Rakhine is now under the control of the Arakan Army. There is a three-way conflict between the Myanmar army, the Arakan Army, and the ordinary Rohingya people. If the humanitarian corridor falls into the hands of the Arakan Army after it is opened, then the UN workers themselves may be in danger. What is more dangerous is that if this corridor actually becomes a new route for the Rohingya to flee, it will give rise to a new Rohingya wave, which Bangladesh can no longer bear.
Such a move by the interim government to organize a Rohingya conference is being seen as a threat to the country’s independence and sovereignty. Political parties and conscious citizens have called for a voice on this issue so that the country’s interests can be protected and foreign interference can be prevented.
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