Naikonchari, Bangladesh (BBN)-Last week’s “flag meeting” on border security between Burma and Bangladesh was overshadowed by accusations by Naypyidaw that Bangladesh has been supporting armed groups which Burmese officials say attacked Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) camps twice this month, killing four BGP officers.
The “flag meeting” was held in Bangladesh’s Bandarban District on May 21st, and although these meetings usually cover various issues last week’s agenda was dominated by the Burmese side’s focus on the alleged attacks, a topic that was discussed for about two and half hours, according to a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) aide who declined to give his name, reports Burma News International.
While the “flag meetings” are usually attended by lower-level officials, due to this month’s alleged attacks Myanmar sent high-level BGP officials to the meeting, including a top BGP commander and the BGP’s regional Director General.
Col Tin Ko Ko, director of the BGP headquarters in the Burmese town of Maungdaw, said during the “flag meeting” that a group of unknown troops entered Burma on May 13th and 17th, after which they attacked BGP camps and fired around hundreds of bullets, according to a BGB officer at the meeting.
Underscoring the seriousness with which Naypyidaw views the situation, a BGP Battalion Chief attending the meeting said that “If any group attacks Burmese security forces through Bangladesh border in future, flag meeting will not be held between two countries in future.”
A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Sector Commander, Col Khondkar Forid Hassan, responded by saying that “Bangladesh doesn’t provide shelter to any insurgent group.
If any group attacks again Burma from Bangladesh territory, BGB will operations to drive out the group,” according to BGB sources.
Locals on the Bangladesh side of the border and a BGB officer interviewed by Kaladan Press (both of whom declined to be named) said they didn’t hear any gunshots and speculated the incident was fabricated by militant Rakhine nationalists. In reality, they said the group of attackers actually consisted of ethnic Rakhines disguised as members of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO)—a militant group seeking Burmese citizenship for Rohingya that has ties with militant Islamic organisations in other countries.
Locals on the Bangladesh side of the border and a Rohingya from the Burmese town of Maungdaw interviewed by Kaladan Press all concluded that the group either consisted of militant Rakhine nationalists acting on their own (referred to as “Mogh”) or official members of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP)—an armed group that wants to expel all Rohingya from Burma—disguised as RSO members.
There was also a consensus opinion among these interviewees that the purpose of the alleged attack was to attract more Rakhine nationalists to take up arms against the Rohingya—particularly the “Arakan Army,” an armed Rakhine group that is currently fighting alongside the KIA against the Burmese army in Kachin State.
The interviewees also told Kaladan Press that they believe the alleged attacks were designed to encourage Naypyidaw to beef up Burma’s security forces in the region and adopt an even more hard-line approach towards the Rohingya.
In the wake of the incident, Burmese media outlets reported that unknown troops had entered Burma from Bangladesh and killed four BGP officers.
Among the five alleged attackers, one died and four were arrested by the BGP and taken to Rakhine State’s Maungdaw General Hospital for treatment, according to a Rohingya from Maungdaw interviewed by Kaladan Press.
The BGB officer and Bangladeshi locals interviewed by Kaladan Press also said that details of last week’s “flag meeting” were reported in Burmese media outlets, while Bangladeshi media organizations focused on the lack of evidence relating to the alleged attacks and quoted Bangladeshi officials who denied that Bangladesh provides any shelter or support to the RSO or other armed groups.
BBN/ANS/AS-27May14-9:30pm (BST)
