Myanmar dismisses shooting allegations

MYANMAR o n Sa t u rd a y denied allegations of a crossborder shooting that raised tensions with Bangladesh ahead of a scheduled start date for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.

The f resh diplomat ic row sta r ted a f ter a Ba ng ladesh border guard official said that a 15-year-old Rohing ya ref ugee was shot in the elbow on November 4 whi le g ra z i ng cows a f ter mult iple rou nds were f i red f rom a sec u r it y post across the demarcation line.

Ba n g l a d e s h summoned Myanmar’s ambassador to lodge a protest but Aung San Suu Kyi’s government says it has looked into the allegation and denies it ever happened.

“The Myanmar ambassador pr o mpt l y c o nt a c t e d t h e responsible officia ls from the MyanmarBorder Guard, who conf irmed t hat no shooting incident had taken place,” the Minist r y of Foreig n A f fa i rs, which is overseen by Suu Kyi, s a i d i n a st atement l at e Saturday.

Myanmar s a y s i t was i nv o l v e d i n c o o rd i na t e d patrols at the time of the alleged incident with Bangladeshi forces along the Naf River that separates the two countries, and that none of their counterparts mentioned the claim.

“A formal protest through diplomatic channels based on dubious reports, as took place in this case, does not serve any useful purpose,” the ministry added.

The contentious back and forth highlights the delicacy surrounding a planned start to the first official repatriation of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, which is supposed to start on November 15 with over 2,000 people at a rate of 150 daily.

UN investigators say Myanma r ’s mi l it a r y s hou ld be investigated for genocide as a result of the campaign, which w i t n e s s e s s a y i n c l u d e d scorched eart h tact ics, rape and murder.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to repatriate Rohingya expelled in the recent military campaign, but they f ear returning to a country without guarantees of citizenship, safety and basic rights.

The UN, which has been granted access to parts of Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state where most Rohingya used to live, says conditions are not right for the stateless minority to return.

A total of 42 aid agencies and NGOS said this week that Rohingya i n the camps i n Bangladesh were “terrified” about the prospect of coming back.