Myanmar will bow down to diplomatic pressure to take back Rohingyas, Quader hopes

Ruling Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader is hoping that Myanmar will give in to the diplomatic pressure created by Bangladesh through Prime Minister's UN campaign and take back the Rohingyas.

"The government will succeed in its diplomatic efforts to force Myanmar to agree to take back the Rohingyas," the road transport and bridges minister said.

"The prime minister's campaign at the UN has mounted intense pressure on the Myanmar government. Myanmar will take back the Rohingyas very soon," he told reporters while distributing relief materials among the Rohingyas in Bandarban on Monday.

Myanmar has been facing fresh criticism since the launching of an army crackdown on insurgents in Rakhine State on Aug 25. It has forced more than 436,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh to save their lives. Before the fresh influx, some 400,000 Rohingyas had already been there in different refugee camps for a long time.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sept 21 told the United Nations General Assembly that Myanmar must take back the Rohingyas and ensure their safety for a permanent solution to the crisis.

She had earlier said Rohingyas were a big burden for Bangladesh, but the country was sheltering them on humanitarian grounds.

Quader on Monday distributed relief goods among 1,000 Rohingya families at Tumbru border of Ghumdhum in Naikkhyanchharhi.

He claimed there was no irregularities and chaos in the distribution of aid this time.

Most of the Rohingyas, including the newly arrived ones, have taken shelter in Cox's Bazar. The army is helping the local administration to distribute the relief materials among them.