Bangladesh seeks world’s ‘political support’ to end Rohingya crisis

Dhaka has solicited “political support” from the international community to ensure safe return of the Rohingya refuges who have taken shelter in Bangladesh fleeing persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Sept 2017, 04:47 PM
Updated : 11 Sept 2017, 04:47 PM

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali made the call when he briefed Dhaka-based diplomats in three phases on Sunday and Monday about the ongoing situation related to the influx of 300,000 Rohingyas.

The call came ahead of the UN General Assembly next week when the issue is expected to be debated.

Bangladesh has been giving shelters to Rohingyas for decades and with the latest influx, the government says the number has hit 700,000.

On Monday, Ali briefed the diplomats of Asian countries except Myanmar.

After the briefing, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said they wanted “immediate cessation of hostilities” in Rakhine State so that the influx can be stopped.

The foreign minister during those briefings referred to the recently published report of the Kofi Annan Commission and urged the international community to pursue the Myanmar government for “immediate and unconditional” implementation of the recommendations.

Umme Salma, a ninth grader from Myanmar's Bujidong, was shot in her left leg while fleeing to Bangladesh. She is undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital on Monday. Photo: suman babu

The foreign ministry said he insisted on full implementation of the report” for a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis.

Mahmood Ali also sought “political support to ensure sustainable return of all Myanmar national to their homes in Myanmar”.

He requested the international community to help Bangladesh with urgent humanitarian assistance to address the current crisis and transport the Rohingyas to Bhashan Char.

The diplomats praised Bangladesh for hosting Rohingyas for decades and giving the shelters to new arrivals, according to the foreign ministry statement.

The foreign minister complained that Myanmar has always been unresponsive to Bangladesh’s call to solve the crisis.

“Rather, they have been running a malicious propaganda terming the Rohingyas ‘illegal migrants from Bangladesh’ and the attackers to their BGP posts as ‘Bengali terrorists’,” he said during all the briefings at the state guesthouse Padma.

He said Myanmar took back 236,599 Rohingyas through a bilateral agreement in 1992 when they recognised them as ‘members of Myanmar society’.

Ali said in an attempt to address the security concerns of Myanmar, Bangladesh also proposed to sign MoUs in 2014 on ‘Border Liaison Office and Security Dialogue’.

It has also proposed joint inspection, coordinated border patrol, and ‘joint operation’ along the frontier.

“Unfortunately Myanmar has not responded to these proposals,” the foreign minister said.

Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya people as its citizens while many in the Buddhist-majority country consider them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

But the latest violence has drawn worldwide concerns as it took place on the day when a commission led by the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan submitted its report with recommendations to address the root cause of the problem such as giving them citizenship to ensure basic rights.

In a rare letter to the Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also expressed concern that the violence could spiral into a “humanitarian catastrophe”.

He said the issue could come up in the general debate of the upcoming UN General Assembly, regular session, which will begin on Sep 12 at the headquarters in New York. The general debate will begin on Sep 19.

Bangladesh is also trying to convince China who earlier in March, backed by Russia, wielded its veto power to stop a statement from the UN Security Council.

There is a perception that India is not with Bangladesh on the issue.

The foreign secretary, however, said both China and India are with Bangladesh during this crisis period, as they have always been.

Diplomats from Afghanistan, Brunei Darussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives attended the last briefing on Monday.