China has plan to end crisis with Rohingya

MYANMAR: China has proposed a three-phase plan for resolving the Rohingya crisis, starting with a ceasefire in Myanmar’s Rakhine State so refugees can return from Bangladesh, China’s Foreign Ministry said ahead of meeting of European and Asian officials in Myanmar yesterday.

More than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August, driven out by a military clearance operation in Buddhist majority Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

The refugees’ suffering has caused an international outcry.

The foreign ministers AsiaEurope Meeting, or ASEM, opening in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw is an important multilateral diplomatic gathering which happens once every two years and is designed to discuss issues between Asia and Europe. The meeting was scheduled to take place in Myanmar before the outbreak of the current crisis.

Speaking in Naypyitaw on Sunday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China believed that the Rohingya crisis could be addressed by a solution acceptable to neighbours Myanmar and Bangladesh through consultations.

‘‘The first phase it to effect a ceasefire on the ground, to return to stability and order, so the people can enjoy peace and no longer be forced to flee,’’ China’s foreign ministry said, citing Wang.

After a ceasefire is seen to be working, Wang said bilateral dialogue should follow to find a workable solution, and the third and final phase should be to work toward a long-term solution based on poverty alleviation.

Wang said poverty was the root cause of the conflict.

Myanmar’s military has said all fighting against the Rohingya Islamist militants died out on September 5, but it remains on guard against incursions by fighters who fled to Bangladesh with the refugees. – Reuters