Prothom Alo :

The army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has made his stand against the corridor clear. He said that it is for an elected government to take a decision regarding the corridor. Does that indicate that the armed forced were not consulted or their views were not taken into cognizance about this issue?

ANM Muniruzzaman

I believe that the military was not consulted or their opinion was not sought on this matter. As I mentioned earlier, there has been no transparency, nor any effort to engage stakeholders in discussion. Sending relief aid to a state in Myanmar carries significant security risks. Since security is a concern here, the position, opinion, and consent of the armed forces are extremely important. If we get involved in the process of sending relief, we could find ourselves in serious danger.

We don’t even know whether Myanmar has given its consent to the delivery of relief to the Rakhine State. We have diplomatic relations with Myanmar and recognise it as an independent and sovereign country. If Myanmar has not consented to the relief delivery in Rakhine, it could resist the move in the interest of its national security and territorial integrity. That could lead to loss of lives and property. Who will provide security in such a scenario? And who will take responsibility for this?

Even if aid is sent, there is no guarantee it will actually reach the people it is intended for. Past experiences suggest that in such situations, aid is often seized by separatist or armed groups that control the region, who then use it for their own purposes. The aid, in effect, becomes a tool of war.