Dhaka hopes democratic process to be upheld in Myanmar

Bangladesh hoped that democratic process and constitutional arrangements will be upheld in Myanmar as the neighboring country’s military declared a one-year state of emergency after reportedly arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials today, reports BSS. 

“As an immediate and friendly neighbour, we would like to see peace and stability in Myanmar,” said a Bangladesh foreign ministry statement after Myanmar military appointed a general as acting president this morning.

The statement said Bangladesh firmly adheres to and promotes democratic ethos.

The foreign ministry said Dhaka has been persistent in developing mutually beneficial relations with Naypyidaw and working with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustained repatriation of the forcefully displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh.

“We expect these processes to continue in right earnest,” read the statement.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there since August 25, 2017 after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” by other rights groups.

In last three years, Myanmar did not take back a single Rohingya while the attempts of repatriation failed twice due to trust deficit among the Rohingyas about their safety and security in the Rakhine state.

Myanmar’s military seized power today in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with Myanmar President Win Myint and other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids, media reports said.

The detentions came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military that stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of the last November election.

An announcement of military-owned Myanmar’s Myawaddy TV said the move was needed to preserve the “stability” of the state, accusing the country’s election commission of failing to address “huge irregularities” in the November election.

Soldiers took up positions at city hall in Yangon and mobile internet data and phone services in the NLD stronghold were disrupted, residents said. Internet connectivity also had fallen dramatically, according to international media reports.