Md. Kamruzzaman
28 June 2019•Update: 28 June 2019
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Bangladesh will ask more support from China on the issue of safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingya Muslim to their own land in Myanmar, an official said Friday.
"We are hopeful that we will get China’s full support to pressurize Myanmar to return their citizens [Rohingya] with safety and dignity”, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters in Dhaka while briefing about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Beijing.
During her 5-day official tour to China between July 1-5 to attend the World Economic Forums annual meeting, Hasina will raise the issue to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a bilateral meeting.
Momen said that China has been playing a role in favor of Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.
"Nowadays, not only China but Russian and even India are mostly doing a role in favor of Bangladesh against Myanmar on peaceful repatriation of Rohingya," he added.
Rohingya the most persecuted community in the world has long been facing government atrocities in the western Rakhine state of Maynamar.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.
Bangladesh's southeastern Cox's Bazar district is currently hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees living in temporary shelters. Rohingya have long been shouted to return to their country as Dhaka and Naypyitaw have signed a repatriation agreement in late 2017.
However, Dhaka repeatedly accused Myanmar of the failure of peaceful repatriation so far.
“Our main target is to permanently return Rohingya people to their home country with peace and dignity so that there is no situation in future that may push them again to move to Bangladesh”, Momen added.
Pointing to the current global scenario he said that it is not wise to believe that Myanmar will abide by any instruction of China.
In reply to a query about repeated controversial role of China on Rohingya issue, Momen said: “We do not believe that Myanmar is being patronized by China."
About recent proposal of US Congressman Brad Sherman for separating the Rakhine State, the homeland of Rohingya, from Myanmar and adding it as a territory of Bangladesh, Momen said that Dhaka is not thinking such way. “We are always trying to solve the Rohingya crisis peacefully.”
He reiterated the Bangladeshi government's called on the international community to support Dhaka and put more pressure on Myanmar.
“We have to gain our goal with the joint effort of the whole international community”.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience".
Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.
