Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh asks Europe to curb Myanmar’s GSP privilege

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has urged European countries to use the GSP trade privilege as a tool against Myanmar in a bid to resolve the Rohingya crisis.

"I have called upon them to put a moratorium for now," he told journalists on Thursday after returning from his recent visits Germany, Italy, Greece, and France.

“I told them it looks odd that you always talk about human rights and humanitarian approaches and yet you are doing business and giving the GSP privilege to the country that committed genocide according to you and the UN.”

“Let there be a moratorium with a condition that it’ll be withdrawn once the Rohigyas go back (from Bangladesh),” he said.

Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingyas. Of them, over 700,000 entered cross into the country for refugee after Myanmar's military crackdown in Rakhine State in August 2017, which the UN branded as “ethnic cleansing”.

Despite attempts to repatriate the refugees, no-one returned to their homeland citing Myanmar's failure to create conditions conducive to their 'voluntary, safe and dignified' return.

The foreign minister once again said that Myanmar instead of resolving the problem making concocted campaign against Bangladesh.