Bangladesh PM asks Myanmar to take Rohingya refugees back

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the state minister for foreign affairs of Myanmar to take back all of those who illegally entered Bangladesh from his country.

U Kyaw Tin is in Dhaka as a special envoy of Myanmar State Counsellor and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi amidst rising international pressure on Myanmar over the influx of persecuted Rohingya people into Bangladesh.

Tin met Hasina at the Ganabhaban on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting on the Rohingya issue on Jan 19 in Malaysia.

The Prime Minister's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim, briefing the media after the meeting, said, "The prime minister said they will have to take back the Myanmar nationals who have migrated to Bangladesh."

Hasina told the Myanmar minister that Bangladesh values relations with its neighbours.

She assured Tin of doing everything to strengthen Bangladesh-Myanmar ties.

Hasina said Bangladesh was eager to resolve bilateral issues, including the one on Rohingya.

"We can permanently resolve the problems ourselves," the prime minister told Tin, according to Karim.  

Bangladesh has been sheltering over 500,000 Rohingya refugees for a long time.

The latest flow of Rohingyas into Bangladesh started after the Myanmar Army launched a crackdown on the ethnic group following deadly attacks on border police posts in October last year.

Speaking about terrorism, Hasina told Tin that her government is always averse to terrorism and militancy, Karim said.

She also said Bangladesh will not allow its soil to be used for terrorist acts against any of its neighbours. 

The prime minister highlighted Bangladesh's achievement in development and said Myanmar could learn from its experience.

Tin handed Hasina a letter from Suu Kyi, who is also foreign minister and de facto head of government of Myanmar.

He said Myanmar wants to strengthen the ties with Bangladesh.

He stressed the need for sharing of information between the border guards of the two countries.

Hasina invited Suu Kyi to visit Bangladesh.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, PMO's Senior Secretary Suraiya Begum and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque were also present.