Bangladesh urges Canada to mount pressure on Myanmar over Rohingya crisis

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali has asked Canada to keep “sustained pressure” on Myanmar military to end the Rohingya crisis in the Rakhine State.

He met the International Development Minister of Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Bibeau said Canada is concerned about the situation.

Ali narrated the situation of Rohingyas and stated that since Aug 25 more than 400,000 Rohingyas has come to Bangladesh and the mass exodus is ongoing.

As of now, Bangladesh is hosting over 800,000 Rohingyas, he said, urging Canada to take action in line with the EU resolution that was adopted recently following the exodus from Rakhine State.

The European Parliament has asked the European Commission to threaten Myanmar with punitive sanctions if it does not end the atrocities in Rakhine State which is described as “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN.

Ali pointed out that the EU had postponed a trade delegation's visit to Myanmar.

He stated the history of Rohingya settlement in Myanmar, which is about 1500 years old.

Rohingyas have an affinity for Bangla and some other languages such as Pashtu, Arabic, and Portuguese.

“So they should not be called ‘Bengalis’ only because many of them have the affinity for Bangla language," he added.

The Canadian minister said they would keep supporting Bangladesh’s position on the Rohingya issue.