India also pushing Myanmar over Rohingya crisis, Sushma tells Hasina

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has rung up Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and assured her of New Delhi’s full support to Bangladesh's stance over the Rohingya issue.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 14 Sept 2017, 05:29 PM
Updated : 14 Sept 2017, 07:20 PM

Hasina received the call from Sushma around 9:45pm on Thursday, the Prime Minister's Deputy Press Secretary Nazrul Islam told bdnews24.com.

"India's position is same as Bangladesh’s over the Rohingya issue," Nazrul quoted Sushma as telling Hasina during the phone call.

"She also spoke about India pushing Myanmar both bilaterally and multilaterally so that they take back their refugees," Nazrul said.

"What India is saying is that Myanmar must stop atrocities against Rohingyas," he added. 

Hasina said the government has designated land for makeshift shelters of the Rohingya people, but if they stayed here for long, it would pose a big problem for Bangladesh.
Earlier in the day, Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla, after handing over 53 tonnes of relief material for the Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh authorities, said his country
over the issue. 

Many in Bangladesh suggest that Dhaka step up diplomacy to have India and China mount pressure on Myanmar to take back the refugees.

But earlier in the day, Myanmar News Agency in a report quoted Hong Liang, the Chinese ambassador in Myanmar, as saying, "The stance of China regarding the terrorist attacks in Rakhine is clear, it is just an internal affair; the counterattacks of Myanmar security forces against extremist terrorists and the government’s undertakings to provide assistance to the people are strongly welcomed."

Around 400,000 Rohingyas fleeing the ongoing army crackdown against the group have joined as many refugees in Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Hasina said she would raise the Rohingya issue at the UN General Assembly currently under way in New York.