Bangladeshi PM calls for immediate solution to Rohingya crisis

Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her address to the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Plenary last week called for immediate solution for the Rohingya crisis.

In her address she underscored the root causes of the recent recurrence of the Rohingya crisis and put forward a number of proposals for a permanent/sustainable solution of the issue.

Stating that she has come “…..with a heavy heart..” Hasina said, the “hungry, distressed and hopeless Rohingyas from Myanmar who took shelter in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh” are “fleeing ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their own country where they have been living for centuries”. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina empathized with their untold sufferings, saying, “I can feel their pain as I, along with my sister, had been a refugee for 6 years after my father, the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and almost all members of my family were assassinated in 1975.”

Dwelling on the current situation of the crisis which has put a colossal burden on Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned, “We are currently sheltering over 800,000 forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar. The ongoing atrocities and human rights violations in the Rakhine State of Myanmar once again aggravated the situation at the Bangladesh-Myanmar Border. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas from the Rakhine State are entering Bangladesh to flee violence. We are horrified to see that the Myanmar authorities are laying landmines along their stretch of the border to prevent the Ronhingyas from returning to Myanmar. This people must be able to return to their homeland in safety, security and dignity.”

While thanking the members of the Security Council and also the Secretary General for their proactive attempts to stop atrocities and bring in peace, and stability in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, the Bangladesh Prime Minister called upon “the United Nations and the international community to take immediate and effective measures for a permanent solution to this protracted Rohingya crisis.”

In this regard, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed a set of actions:

 “First: Myanmar must unconditionally stop the violence and the practice of ethnic cleansing in the Rakhine State immediately and forever.

Second: Secretary General of the United Nations should immediately send a Fact Finding Mission to Myanmar. 

Third: All civilians irrespective of religion and ethnicity must be protected in Myanmar. For that “safe zones” could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision.

Fourth: Ensure sustainable return of all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar.

Fifth: The recommendations of Kofi Annan Commission Report must be immediately implemented unconditionally and in its entirety.”