UK minister urged to mount pressure on Myanmar over Rohingya on virtual Bangladesh visit

Bangladesh has once again called on the UK to exert and increase pressure on Myanmar for solving the Rohingya crisis urgently through sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to Rakhine.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and UK International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan discussed the issue during her “virtual visit” to Bangladesh on Wednesday.  

Momen expressed his sympathy for the severity of COVID-19 in the UK, and briefed Trevelyan on the steps taken by Bangladesh to contain the virus, the foreign ministry said.

He briefed her about the economic and social impact of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, including the challenge of job loss by a significant number of Bangladeshi migrant workers abroad, particularly in the Middle East. He requested the support of the UK in overcoming this difficulty.

The foreign minister flagged that Myanmar has not done anything for the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. He insisted that until international community exerts more pressure on Myanmar, including by putting trade and investment moratorium, the Rohingya crisis will not be resolved.

Trevelyan saw how UK-backed isolation and treatment centres will help protect Bangladeshi and Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar from the pandemic, the British government said in a statement.

“The UK will continue to work with the Government of Bangladesh, international partners and the UN Security Council to enable the Rohingyas to return home to Rakhine in a safe, dignified and voluntary manner, and to support them until that is possible,” she said.

The UK has dedicated more than £21 million to tackle coronavirus in Bangladesh, where over 122,000 cases have been reported.

During the virtual visit, Trevelyan talked to the staff of BRAC, an NGO which has mobilised 50,000 community health workers with UK aid support to reach more than five million Bangladeshi people in remote, deprived communities, giving them public health information about how to prevent the spread of coronavirus and stay safe.

“Coronavirus is the biggest public health emergency in a generation. UK aid is committed to helping Bangladesh and the Rohingya people through this devastating crisis,” she said.