UNITED NATIONS: International opinion hardened against Myanmar on Monday as the US, Britain and other powers renewed calls for an end to violence against Rohingya Muslims, whose plight is overshadowing the Southeast Asian nation’s historic transition to democracy.
A year ago at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, Myanmar was being lauded for staging elections and shifting peacefully from decades of oppressive military rule.
At this year’s UN session, Myanmar, also known as Burma, appeared in danger of being an international outlier again.
Outrage is growing over a military crackdown that has triggered an exodus of more than 400,000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh in less than a month in what the UN has described as “ethnic cleansing. “
Last week, the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body, condemned the violence in its first statement on Myanmar in nine years.
On Monday, Britain presided at a meeting of several Western and Muslim-majority governments that urged senior Myanmar officials to stop abuses against the Muslim minority and restore humanitarian access.
Myanmar’s government has blamed the crisis on Rohingya insurgents who attacked security posts in Rakhine State in late August.
But the military’s heavy response has severely affected civilians. Human rights groups, which are demanding punitive sanctions against Myanmar, say satellite imagery shows dozens of settlements have been set on fire. Many fleeing Rohingya say their homes were burned by Myanmar troops or Buddhist mobs.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the violence a “stain” on Myanmar’s reputation.
He urged action from the nation’s democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticized for failing to speak out in defense of the Rohingya. The minority group is widely loathed by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar and viewed as outsiders despite the fact many have lived in the country for generations.
“It is vital that Aung San Suu Kyi and the civilian government make clear these abuses must stop,” Johnson said in a statement.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who spent nearly 15 years in house arrest under Myanmar’s former ruling junta, is skipping the UN gathering and will address her nation Tuesday.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Monday’s meeting, attended by Myanmar’s national security adviser and deputy foreign minister, was productive but the situation remains dire. She urged the government to end military operations, grant humanitarian access and commit to aiding the safe return of civilians to their homes.
“People are still at risk of being attacked or killed, humanitarian aid is not reaching the people who need it, and innocent civilians are still fleeing across the border to Bangladesh,” Haley said.
Ministers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, Canada, Sweden and Denmark also attended the closed meeting Monday. The British statement said the meeting urged Myanmar to implement recommendations of a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan calling for economic development and social justice to counter deadly violence between Buddhists and the Rohingya.
Also Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said one-third of the Rohingya community has been forced into exile and it requires a collective response by the international community to ensure their protection.
“We are waiting for Aung San Suu Kyi to give a strong answer and a real dialogue,” he told reporters.
As world leaders meet at UN, opinion hardens against Myanmar
As world leaders meet at UN, opinion hardens against Myanmar
Bangladesh votes in world’s first Gen Z-inspired election
- Ousted PM Hasina’s Awami League party banned
- BNP, Jamaat in close race with big economic, geopolitical stakes
DHAKA: For years under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s opposition had little presence on the streets during elections, either boycotting polls or being sidelined by mass arrests of senior leaders. Now, ahead of Thursday’s vote, the roles have reversed.
Hasina’s Awami League is banned, but many young people who helped oust her government in a 2024 uprising say the upcoming vote will be the Muslim-majority nation’s first competitive election since 2009, when she began a 15-year-rule.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is widely expected to win, although a coalition led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami is putting up a strong challenge. A new party driven by Gen-Z activists under the age of 30 has aligned with Jamaat after failing to translate its anti-Hasina street mobilization into an electoral base.
BNP chief Tarique Rahman told Reuters his party, which is contesting 292 of the 300 parliamentary seats at stake, was confident of winning “enough to form a government.”
Analysts say a decisive result in the February 12 vote, instead of a fractured outcome, is vital for restoring stability in the nation of 175 million after Hasina’s ouster triggered months of unrest and disrupted major industries, including the garments sector in the world’s second-largest exporter.
The verdict will also affect the roles of rival regional heavyweights China and India in the South Asian nation.
“Opinion polls suggest the BNP has an edge, but we must remember that a significant portion of voters are still undecided,” said Parvez Karim Abbasi, executive director at Dhaka’s Center for Governance Studies.
“Several factors will shape the outcome, including how Generation Z — which makes up about a quarter of the electorate — votes, as their choices will carry considerable weight.”
Across Bangladesh, black-and-white posters and banners bearing the BNP’s “sheaf of paddy” symbol and Jamaat’s “scales” hang from poles and trees and are pasted on roadside walls, alongside those of several independent candidates. Party shacks on street corners, draped in their emblems, blare campaign songs.
It marks a sharp contrast with past elections, when the Awami League’s “boat” symbol dominated the landscape.
Opinion polls expect the once-banned Jamaat, which had opposed Bangladesh’s India-backed 1971 independence from Pakistan, to have its best electoral performance even if it does not win.
China’s influence increases as India’s wanes
The election verdict will also influence the roles of China and India in Bangladesh in coming years, analysts have said. Beijing has increased its standing in Bangladesh since Hasina was seen as pro-India and fled to New Delhi after her ouster, where she remains.
While New Delhi’s influence is on the wane, the BNP is seen by some analysts as being relatively more in tune with India than the Jamaat.
A Jamaat-led government might tilt closer to Pakistan, a fellow Muslim-majority nation and a long-standing rival of Hindu-majority India, analysts say. Also, Jamaat’s Gen-Z ally has said “New Delhi’s hegemony” in Bangladesh is one of its main concerns and its leaders met Chinese diplomats recently.
Jamaat, which calls for a society governed by Islamic principles, has said the party is not inclined toward any country.
BNP’s Rahman has said if his party formed the government it would have friendly relations with any nation that “offers what is suitable for my people and my country.”
Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries with high rates of extreme poverty, has been hit by high inflation, weakening reserves and slowing investment, which has pushed it to seek large-scale external financing since 2022, including billions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Corruption is the biggest concern among the 128 million voters, followed by inflation, according to a survey by Dhaka-based think tanks Communication & Research Foundation and Bangladesh Election and Public Opinion Studies.
Analysts say Jamaat’s clean image is a factor in its favor, much more than its Islamic leanings.
“Voters report high intention to participate, prioritize corruption and economic concerns over religious or symbolic issues, and express clear expectations for leaders who demonstrate care, competence and accountability,” said the survey.
Nevertheless, BNP’s Rahman, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, is seen as the frontrunner to lead the next government. But if the Jamaat-led coalition emerges ahead, its chair, Shafiqur Rahman, could be in line for the top job.
Mohammad Rakib, 21, who is set to vote for the first time, said he hoped the next government would allow people to express their views and exercise their franchise freely.
“Everyone was tired of (Hasina’s) Awami League. People couldn’t even vote during national elections. People had no voice,” he said. “I hope the next government, whoever comes into power, will ensure this freedom of expression.”
