Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- After a short period of "lull", the unresolved problem of the Rohingya Muslim refugees who were forcibly expelled from Myanmar has returned to the center of the international agenda.

I. This was facilitated by the process of transporting Rohingya refugees who have been in the country since 2017 to the island of Bhasan Char, initiated by the government of Bangladesh. The head of the country’s Foreign Ministry A. Momen explained the need for these measures by the overcrowding of refugee camps on the mainland of the country - in the city of Cox’s Bazar, where more than 730 thousand people have lived since the beginning of the crisis.

This situation, according to the Bangladesh authorities, is forcing them to resettle a small part of the refugees - more than 100 thousand people - in order to reduce tensions in the camps. To this end, over the past three years, construction work has been carried out on the island of Bhasan Char in the amount of US$112 million.

However, international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused Bangladesh of forcibly evicting refugees to an isolated island that is subject to regular flooding. Their concern is also explained by the lack of necessary conditions for living on the island - access to medical services and education, as well as the danger of this place from a climatic point of view.

In this context, it is noteworthy that the island located 34 kilometers from the mainland appeared on the surface only 20 years ago and was never inhabited.

It is no coincidence that the country’s authorities banned foreign media from visiting Bhashan Char, and international organizations were not allowed to independently assess the island’s safety and resilience to frequent monsoon rains and floods.

UN experts also point to the violent nature of the movement of refugees, who are calling to suspend this process. According to them, the persecution of the minority after fleeing Myanmar in 2017 now continues in the neighboring state, despite its Muslim allegiance.

II. In the current situation, observers of most publications point to a desperate situation in Bangladesh.

In their opinion, the country, already suffering from growing socio-economic problems, cannot alone bear a significant burden of responsibility for the maintenance of refugees.

In particular, the Guardian observers consider Bangladesh "hostage" to the unresolved crisis over the Rohingya minority.

From their point of view, the main reason for the unresolved issue of this long-standing problem is the uncompromising position of the government of Myanmar, which still refuses to grant this religious group the citizenship of the country and the possibility of safe return to their homeland.

Additional complications arise from the Myanmar authorities’ attempts to clear the abandoned Rohingya villages. In these actions, many observers see the desire to change the demographic situation in the region and preparations for the settlement of the Rakhine State by the titular nation - Buddhists.

Similar conclusions are outlined in the recent report of the UN Human Rights Council. It, in particular, notes that the situation in Myanmar has not improved, and the threat of genocide remains for 600 thousand Rohingya who remain in their historical homeland - Rakhine.

This explains the reluctance of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to return to their country - Myanmar, where a discriminatory policy has been deployed and systemic attacks against this ethnic group continue.

A similar opinion is expressed by the correspondents of the Diplomat publication, who characterize the process of displacement of refugees begun in Bangladesh as a forced measure.

In recent years, they estimate that the Bangladeshi city of Cox’s Bazar has grown into the world’s largest refugee camp, lacking the most basic living amenities. About 400,000 children lack access to education, and more than 60% of the available water is heavily polluted.

These factors, combined with a decrease in funding for humanitarian operations, high population density and lack of sanitation, increase the risk of spreading dangerous infections among refugees, including coronavirus.

However, even for such an "unenviable" life, the Rohingya are ready to agree, just not to return home, where the government of the country does not intend to reckon with their interests.

In this context, Deutsche Welle draws attention to the increasing international pressure on the authorities of Myanmar in recent years, which could not force them to radically reconsider their aggressive behavior.

An international trial of charges of crimes against humanity, launched at the end of 2019, and a package of sanctions imposed by the EU against the country’s elite have not yielded results.

The OIC’s appeal to the UN Security Council with a demand to take measures against Myanmar did not lead to serious shifts in this matter. President of Turkey R. Erdogan accused the authorities of Myanmar of the Rohingya genocide. “If I had my way, I would have delivered a nuclear strike there. I would simply destroy those people who kill children, women, old people,” the head of Chechnya, R. Kadyrov, said earlier.

The Al Jazeera experts associate the ineffectiveness of international pressure with the position of China and India, which are not interested in deteriorating their relations with Myanmar. Both countries see Myanmar as an important "geopolitical point" through which it is possible to reconfigure the balance of power in the region.

In particular, for China, Myanmar is a "gateway" capable of providing the shortest exit to the Indian Ocean. In this regard, the PRC in recent years has actually been acting as a key economic partner and "main protector" of Myanmar.

In this context, Beijing’s plans to implement the construction of a port in Rakhine State, the historical homeland of the Rohingya, are noteworthy, in order to enter the important sea area and reduce its transport dependence on the "restless" Strait of Malacca. It is no coincidence that against the background of the situation with the Rohingya, criticism is heard from Western countries and to the PRC.

With this in mind, Tagesschau notes that in a short period of time, the Rohingya problem has gone beyond a local crisis and turned into another element of the geopolitical struggle between authoritarian China and the collective West worried about its strengthening. Due to its religious nature, the crisis also developed into an intercivilizational confrontation between the Buddhist government of Myanmar and the Islamic world.

In general, experts believe the key to a long-term solution to the Rohingya issue does not lie in Bangladesh or Western minority rights advocates. The solution to this problem most likely depends on the approaches of Myanmar to this crisis and the regional powers, primarily China and India, which could help to find a balance of interests between the Buddhist government and its Muslim population.