Bangladesh’s premier reiterates call for Rohingya repatriation

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA): Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated her call to repatriate the Rohingya people to Myanmar.

Speaking at an international conference on public health and diplomacy in Dhaka, the premier said the immediate return of Rohingya refugees to their home country is the only durable solution to the longstanding crisis.

She recalled that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dhaka did not forget the well-being of 1.2 million Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps.

Bangladesh, along with its development partners, extended healthcare services, including vaccinations, as needed by these refugees, she added.

“It should not be forgotten that this huge population has been taking shelter in this country and has always been a humanitarian crisis and a security concern to our region. Only their safe and dignified repatriation to Myanmar can ensure a sustainable solution to this crisis,” she said.

Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in Bangladesh, the majority of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in the Rakhine state of Myanmar in August 2017.

Most of them are housed in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar district, but around 30,000 have been relocated to Bhasan Char islet since late 2020.

The Rohingya Muslim community has been called the most persecuted community in the world by the UN. Myanmar — from where they fled to escape genocide — is currently ruled by a military junta which has rejected the persecuted, stateless community’s repatriation to their homeland.