Realistic and sensitive approach needed to tackle Rohingya issue, says foreign secretary Jaishankar

NEW DELHI: India is holding sustained high-level conversations with Myanmar and Bangladesh so that Rohingya refugees can return to their country, foreign secretary S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

Speaking at a think tank, Carnegie on India's policy priorities in the Bay of Bengal region, Jaishankar said "exodus of people is a matter of concern. Our objective is to see how they can go back to their place of origin. This is not easy, but we believe this is better addressed through practical measures and constructive conversations using an approach mindful of local sensitivities".

This, he said, was more useful than "doing strong condemnations, and having checked a condemnation box move on to the next one. We actually feel this needs much more sober, realistic and locally sensitive approach."

The Rohingya crisis is testing India's regional diplomacy between two strategic and important neighbours, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Bangladesh, receiving almost a million refugees is confronting an economic and security time-bomb. After an initial misstep, India has launched a massive relief assistance programme (Operation Insaniyat) to help Bangladesh deal with the influx while increasing intelligence exchange on radicalised Rohingya who may have entered Bangladesh.

Myanmar, on the other hand, is getting increased support from India, particularly on the rebuilding of Rakhine state, where almost all the Rohingya live. But while India has openly supported Myanmar's fight against Rohingya radicals, New Delhi has also thrown its weight behind the Kofi Annan report, the key recommendation of which is a change in Myanmar's citizenship laws. Persuading the Myanmar government to agree, given overwhelming support for action against the Rohingya will be hard for anybody, including India.

Recognising the long-term effects of the Bangladesh-Myanmar problems, Jaishankar said while there is a sharper realisation in India to act eastwards, India's Act East connectivity would not work if India could not work out the problems of these two neighbours.