Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh PM calls for more pressure on Myanmar

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on parliamentarians across the Commonwealth nations to exert pressure on Myanmar to halt its persecution of the Rohingya minority and repatriate the 622,000 who crossed the border into Bangladesh since the start of its military crackdown.

“I would like to request you all to discuss the Rohingya issue with utmost importance and exert pressure on the Myanmar government to stop the persecution of its citizens and take them back at the earliest,” Hasina said in her inaugural speech to the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference or CPC on Sunday.

The persecution of the Rohingyas and their forceful expulsion from their homeland has created instability in the region, she said.

Hasina highlighted the refuge Bangladesh has given to the 622,000 Myanmar nationals who have crossed the border into Bangladesh since Aug 25 and the approximately 400,000 others who had entered the country at various times since 1978.

Hasina said that Bangladesh wants friendly relations with its neighbours, citing the progress made on the Ganges Water Sharing issue and the land boundaries with India and Myanmar.

The prime minister also reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to the CPA, democratic practices and values and congratulated Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury on being the first woman to chair the organisation in 2014.

“We parliamentarians, as the people’s representatives, have the first and foremost obligations to preserve and maintain the faith of the people in democracy and parliamentary institutions,” she said.

Hasina also spoke of the sacrifices Bangladesh had made to create its democracy, including those of the Liberation War and those made by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and her family.

She also touted Bangladesh’s success in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the media’s role as a watchdog in the country.

“Independent and strong mass media are the vigilant watchdog of democracy,” he said. “In the past few years we witnessed a huge expansion of mass media. The freedom of mass media and the people’s right to information have been ensured.”