Myanmar's Rohingya issues cannot be solved militarily, says Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

The refugee wave from Myanmar is a ‘political problem’ that cannot be solved militarily, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 8 Dec 2016, 11:05 AM
Updated : 8 Dec 2016, 03:17 PM

She made the comment during a meeting with Danish Ambassador Mikael Hemnid Winther who came for a courtesy visit to the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday.

The ambassador praised Bangladesh’s head of government for the way the country was dealing with the Rohingyas, said her Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.

"The prime minister told the envoy, 'It’s a political problem. It cannot be resolved militarily',” he told the media.

Speaking about the Rohingya issue in Parliament on Wednesday, Hasina said, “We cannot just open our doors to people coming in waves.”

She told Parliament that the government was, however, taking necessary steps to provide the Rohingyas, who have already entered the country, with humanitarian assistance.

In 2012, the government decided not to let anymore Rohingyas enter Bangladesh after it was found that a large number of them were involved in criminal activities in Bangladesh and abroad as they managed to obtain documents illegally as Bangladeshi citizens.

Similar steps have been taken to stop the recent influx of Rohingyas after they started to flee from persecution inside Myanmar.

In the meeting with the Danish ambassador, the PM said she herself had to live a life of refugee for six years after the assassination of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with most other members of the family in 1975.

Hasina and her sister Sheikh Rehana were abroad during the Aug 15 massacre. She returned home in 1981 as the president of the Awami League.

The Prime Minister's Press Secretary Karim said Hasina also spoke about her government's 'zero tolerance' policy towards militancy and terrorism.

"The Danish ambassador said his country was proud to be Bangladesh's development partner and will continue its support," he said.

Karim said Winther praised Bangladesh's economic progress and spoke about the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries lying in the field of energy and renewable energy.

The ambassador also said his country was eager to be at the side of Bangladesh to achieve its development goals set for of the golden jubilee of independence in 2021.

The prime minister told the Danish ambassador that his country can contribute to Bangladesh's development by investing in agriculture and processing agriculture products.

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury was also present at the meeting.