Arakan Bodies Opposed the Tri-nations MoU on Arakan Gas

Chittagong, Jan-14: Rohingya Arakanese leaders strongly opposed the tri-nations agreement on exporting Gas from Arakan State, Burma to India through Bangladesh without the consent of its stakeholders.

A spokesman of Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) said, “We will try until last time to preserve our natural resources, as it is our property that can be used for the benefits of Arakan’s people.”

We have a lot of reasons to protesting the issue that the Burmese military regime will use task forces in Arakan, building military camps, while the military will involve in gross human rights violations by any means. We are sure that there will be a mass refugee influx from Arakan to Bangladesh to escape oppression and repression of military in the region, he further added.

Bangladesh would be responsible for increasing human rights abuses in future in Arakan region and mass refugee influx, said a leader of Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF) on condition of anonymity.

AFK Jilani, a leader of National League for Democracy (NLD) of Arakan State, Burma, in exile in Bangladesh stressed that the Bangladesh as a democratic country, it would not create the position to increase human rights violation in Burma, while the SPDC is in the list of top terror in Asia. If it continues to tie friendship with military dictator, the responsibility of all kinds of human rights abuses in western border would be fallen on Bangladesh. So, we as NLD members oppose to the agreement of on Tri-nation Gas Pipeline from Arakan to India through Bangladesh territory.

In addition, we are very much hopeful that the India, one of the largest democratic countries of the world together with the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh will form a joint action committee for the restoration of democracy, human rights, peace, justice and tranquility through ongoing bilateral and trilateral cooperation with Burma to ensure the rights of all people of the country.

On the other hand, Mr. Aman Ullah, the Secretary of Working Committee for Arakan State Constitution Drafting said, “We are very sensitive on the ownership of State Natural Resources that would be the top issue in the genuine federal union of Burma. So, we are drafting the Arakan State Constitution on the basis of federalism to ensure the rights of natural resources.”

We don’t want to oppose any country for exporting gas from Arakan, if it will not affect the sustainability and rights of the people of Burma in general and the people of Arakan in particular who are the sole owner of this natural resources. But on going process of exporting gas from Arakan to India through Bangladesh is harmful for the people of Arakan State and Burma. The India should not export it without having consent of stakeholders (people of Arakan) and not ensuring their rights and Bangladesh should not co-operate the SPDC by any means to restore democracy in Burma. So, we request both the country of Bangladesh and India to review their ongoing policy to ensure the rights and freedom of Burma by any means, he further said.

Yesterday, in a media conference in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi leaders of Student-Youth Movement to Resist Plundering of Oil-Gas also protested the ongoing discussion in Rangoon among the energy ministers of Bangladesh, India and Burma on gas pipeline from Burma to India through Bangladesh.

The SPDC and corporate planers have until kept potential pipeline routes under veil of secrecy, barring citizens from the debate. Among several stated routes, it seems likely that the pipeline will pass along the Kaladan River that runs from Akyab (Arakan and Chin States) of Burma into Tripura and Mizoram States of India, while it would enter the Bangladesh border through Brahmanbaria from the Indian state of Tripura and will cross into West Bengal through the Rajshahi border.

Villagers would become the victims of well-documented human rights abuses such as rape, environmental destruction, forced relocation, land confiscation, torture, forced labor, killing, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, extortion, taxation and restriction of movement while most people in Arakan, western Burma are living without electricity or cooking gas, further added by the RYDF leader.

The governments of Burma, Bangladesh and India agree to establish a Techno-Commercial Working Committee comprising duly designated representatives of the three governments in tri-nation meeting in Rangoon, yesterday.

It will meet in Rangoon within a month of prior with a view to preparing a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will be concluded and signed at Dhaka at the earliest mutual convenience of the three governments.

According to the pipeline proposal report, Bangladesh would receive right of way (using lands to install the pipeline) charges worth US$ 125 million per annum at a time, wheeling (transmission) charges US$ 100 million per annum and management cost worth $20-25 million per annum. Besides, US$ 150 million will be an investment that will create employment opportunities for Bangladeshi workers.

Burma will earn some million dollars per annum from its annual gas sale to neighbor India from its Shwe Gas field in the Andaman sea off Burma’s coast last year opened the possibility of exports to India. This will go directly to SPDC and will buy arms and ammunitions to kill its own people, while the people of Arakan State will be deprived of any profits. ##

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