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—Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ first such engagement since 2021 Myanmar military coup

—It is planned to take place before UN-backed Rohingya conference in Doha in September

Shehab Sumon

DHAKA: Malaysia and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send a peace mission to Myanmar to help address the Rohingya crisis, officials said Tuesday, as Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus, whose country hosts most refugees, met with Malaysian leaders.

The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority, lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s.

Since then, many of them have fled to Bangladesh, with around 700,000 arriving in 2017 after a military crackdown that the UN has been referring to as a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar.

Today, more than 1.3 million Rohingya are cramped inside 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar district on the southeast coast of Bangladesh, making it the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Yunus, the Nobel Peace Laureate who pledged support for the Rohingya upon taking office last year, is on a three-day visit to Malaysia — the ASEAN chair for 2025 — at the invitation of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“We are concerned with the burden placed on Bangladesh on having to cater for enormous numbers of Rohingya refugees,” Anwar said in a press conference with Yunus.

“The (Malaysian) foreign minister will coordinate a team with Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand to visit Myanmar in the next few weeks to ensure that peace is attained and the atrocity (against) some ethnic minorities and the people of Myanmar can be amicably resolved.”

Despite multiple attempts from Bangladeshi authorities, a UN-backed repatriation and resettlement process of the Rohingya has been failing to take off for the past few years.

Efforts have been stalled by armed conflict in Myanmar since the military junta seized power in 2021. Violence in Rakhine State, home to most of the Rohingya, has surged in recent months amid clashes between the junta and the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic militia.

Retired Maj. Gen. Shahidul Haque, former diplomat and defense attache of the Bangladesh Embassy in Myanmar, told Arab News: “The issue of Rohingya repatriation is in a complex state in 2025.

“Multiple actors are involved in Myanmar: the capital, Naypyidaw, is controlled by the Myanmar military, while the Rohingyas’ birthplace, Rakhine, is under the control of the separatist Arakan Army.

“It will not be possible to repatriate a single Rohingya without reaching some form of agreement with the Arakan Army.

“A UN-backed Rohingya conference will be held in Doha next September, and the ASEAN peace mission visit may also help boost the UN initiative to find a sustainable solution to the crisis.”

The UN estimates that in the past 18 months alone, targeted violence against the Rohingya has driven an additional 150,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.

The protracted crisis has begun to affect the host community, which despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, has been supporting the Rohingya by providing not only land, but also water, electricity, healthcare and a huge law enforcement presence.

The Bangladeshi government estimated last year that it had spent around $2 billion since the beginning of the crisis only on maintaining the infrastructure for refugees.

The ASEAN mission will be the first such visit since the Myanmar military coup.

“This peace mission by the ASEAN is a breakthrough initiative for finding a resolution to the Rohingya crisis. Until now, Myanmar authorities have not welcomed any third-party engagement or visit on Rohingya issues,” Haque said.

“The timing of this visit is also very important as the Myanmar military rulers will hold a general election in December. The military rulers in Myanmar need support and recognition from ASEAN peers regarding the election. Maybe for this reason, they are now willing to engage with ASEAN nations.”

MADRID: A man died from burns and thousands of people were forced to flee as wildfires swept through parts of Spain on Tuesday, fueled by strong winds during a searing heatwave.
The victim suffered serious burns as winds of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) per hour whipped the flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of the capital Madrid, officials said.
He later died in hospital, in the first fatality from dozens of wildfires to have hit the country since the heatwave began last week.
The head of the regional government of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said she “deeply regretted” the man’s death in a message on X.
Hundreds of residents in Tres Cantos were evacuated from their homes.
“In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced six kilometers,” Carlos Novillo, Madrid’s regional environment chief, told reporters.
By Tuesday morning, regional officials said the blaze had been contained.
Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in the southern region of Andalusia.
The wildfire broke out near where a similar blaze forced evacuations earlier this month.
“We managed to save the residential area at the very last second,” said Antonio Sanz, the interior minister in the regional government of Andalusia.
A Civil Guard police officer was injured when struck by a car while helping with the evacuation, he added.
In the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, more than 30 blazes were reported Monday, including one threatening Las Medulas, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its ancient Roman gold mines.
The wildfires coincide with what meteorologists expect to be the most intense day yet of the ongoing heatwave, with all regions under weather alerts.
Forecasters warn of highs around 40 Celsius and overnight lows that remain above 25 Celsius.