Speaker for playing effective role in solving Rohingya crisis

Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury today urged the international community to play an effective and sustainable role in resolving the Rohingya crisis which created a humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh wants an urgent and peaceful solution of the crisis so that the Rohingya people could return to their homes in Myanmar with their rights and dignity and lead a meaningful life through peaceful coexistence with their neighbour," she said.

She was speaking at a briefing organised by UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock at UN headquarters in New York on "Rohingya Crisis and Bangladesh's Humanitarian Support", according to a message received in Dhaka today.

EU ambassadors to the UN, envoys from Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, USA, South Korea, Switzerland, Myanmar and Bangladesh and representatives from UNHCR, IOM, Unicef, WHO, Red Cross and Red Crescent joined the briefing.

The Jatiya Sangsad speaker, who joined the briefing as the special guest, said the root cause of the problem lies in Myanmar so that the particular country has to come forward to solve the problem. "This problem can be solved if there is political and humanitarian commitment," she added.

Earlier, Mark Lowcock highlighted his experiences while visiting different Rohingya camps in Bangladesh's Cox’s Bazar district recently before the representatives of the member states.

Lowcock thanked the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for providing shelter and humanitarian support to the distressed Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh following 'systematic and planned' exodus by the Myanmar army along with Buddhists mob since August 25.

He also gave a brief account of different humanitarian activities carried out under the UN umbrella in Cox's Bazar for the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.

In this connection, the UN Under-Secretary General referred the outcome of the Pledging Conference held in Geneva on October 23 and called upon international community to extend their further support for implementing UN programmes for the cause of the distressed Rohingyas who were forced to flee to Bangladesh.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in her intervention gave a grim picture of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh following persecution by Myanmar army in the Rakhine state.

She said the five point proposal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which she put forward in the UN General assembly this year can resolve the crisis.

Later, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury called on UN former Secretary General and Chairman of Advisory Committee on Rakhine State Kofi Annan when they discussed Rohingya crisis.

During the meeting, Kofi Annan applauded Bangladesh government for playing a humanitarian role in this current Rohingya crisis.

Expressing concern over the mass exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar, he stressed on unfolding the actual picture of the incident. Annan also laid emphasis on ending the atrocities on Rohingya civilians, ensuring access of UN aid agencies and media in the affected areas in Myanmar.

In response, the Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury requested Kofi Annan to highlight his thoughts and observations on Rohingya crisis before international community aimed at solving it. Annan assured Shirin for providing all out cooperation to solve the crisis.

Source: bss