China proposes three-phased solution on Rohingyas crisis

November 21, 2017

China has announced that Bangladesh and Myanmar have accepted its mediatory role and agreed to implement three-phased solution proposed by its Foreign Minister Wang Yi to resolve Rohingya refugee crisis.
The three-phased solution was proposed after Wang Yi met separately with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Myanmar’s top leaders.

Three- stage solution

First stage: Myanmar should impose ceasefire and stop persecuted Rohingyas from fleeing into Bangladesh.
Second stage: Bangladesh and Myanmar should strengthen exchanges and find solution on basis of equality.
Third stage: International community to help develop the backward Rakhine state and poverty alleviation of Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Background

Over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s violence hit Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh since August when the military intensified crackdown against alleged militant outfits of Rohingya Muslim. China is positioning itself as mediator in dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Rohingya

Rohingya is ethnic Muslim minority group, largely comprising Muslims living primarily in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. They practice Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam. They differ from Myanmar’s dominant Buddhist groups religiously, ethnically and linguistically.
They speak Bengali dialect, as opposed to commonly spoken Burmese language in Myanmar. Myanmar considers Rohingya’s as illegal Bengali immigrants, despite fact that they have resided in Rakhine province for centuries.
Myanmar government refuses to grant them citizenship status, and as result they do not have any legal documentation, effectively making them stateless. They are also restricted from freedom of movement, state education and civil service jobs. UN has often described Rohingyas as one of most persecuted minorities in world.