Unrest in Rakhine State to Figure in Talks Between PM Modi and Suu Kyi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on his first bilateral visit to Myanmar, will be meeting the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.

The two sides are expected to discuss the unrest in Rakhine state. Just ahead of the visit, Joint Secretary (Bangladesh, Myanmar) Sripriya Ranganathan said, “It is a matter of great concern. There has been a particularly prominent attack where a lot of people have lost their lives. We have contacted them (Myanmar) to find out what can be done.”

India has offered to extend assistance in stimulating a socio-economic project that can help alleviate the extreme poverty and distress in the state. Ministry of External Affairs said that some assistance is already being provided to foster communal harmony but the onus of restoring peace lies with the Myanmar government.

India also believes that initiatives like the Kaladan project that starts in Rakhine state will further help improve the situation. Kaladan is a $484-million multi-modal transport project between India and Myanmar that will improve connectivity in Mizoram. India managed the construction of Sittwe port in Rakhine only last year, which was a year behind schedule.

But even as the government reaches out to improve the situation in Rakhine and prevent the fleeing of Rohingyas, the Centre has decided to deport about 40,000 Rohingya refugees from India.

The government states that these are illegal immigrants. The Centre told the Supreme Court last week that it cannot give any commitment on not deporting these refugees. However, the matter is expected to be heard again next week as the court has issued a notice over it.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International had expressed grave concern over India’s plan to relocate Rohingyas back to Myanmar. A statement from the Human Rights body had said “sending Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar, where the community has faced horrific abuses, would not just be a violation of India’s commitments under international law, but also a blemish on India’s history of supporting those fleeing persecution.”