Hasina to Guterres: ‘Put more pressure on Myanmar’

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday again urged the United Nations and international community to put more pressure on Myanmar government for taking back their nationals from Bangladesh through peaceful rehabilitation in their homeland.

The prime minister made the call when UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres phoned her tonight.

“The UN secretary general made the phone call to the Prime Minister at around 9.30 pm and talked to her about 20 minutes on the Rohingya crisis,” PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.

He said that the prime minister also sought the UN secretary general's support for the implementation of her five-point proposal that she placed in the 72nd UN General Assembly.

"I've presented the five-point proposal for a sustainable solution to the problem," she told Guterres.

The press secretary said the prime minister thanked the UN secretary general for the phone call and sought his support and continued engagement with the issue until a durable solution to this Rohingya crisis could be found.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has already been engaged with Myanmar bilaterally to arrive at a workable arrangement for the return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland by peaceful means.

"You're very much aware that the root cause of the problem lies in Myanmar and its solution to be found in Myanmar," she told the UNSG.

The prime minister said the Bangladesh foreign minister will visit New York soon to apprise him (Guterres) of the real situation on the ground.

"We're also sending our home minister to Myanmar to find out a solution to the Rohingya crisis," she said.

The press secretary said the UN secretary general expressed grave concern over the influx of hundreds of thousands of the Rohingya people into Bangladesh. 

In this connection, he also extended his solidarity with Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue and thanked the government for sheltering and providing services to the forcibly evicted Myanmar citizens.

Sheikh Hasina thanked the UN secretary general for his concern, compassion and support for the Rohingya people as well as his continued and strong pro-active role in drawing the UN Security Council as well as the world community’s attention to the problem.

As of today, she said, the exodus of Rohingyas into Bangladesh continues and the atrocities in Myanmar have not stopped yet.

"The number of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals (in Bangladesh) has already crossed 600,000 bringing the total number to one million," she said.  

Sheikh Hasina said her government has given shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds.

She said the people and the government of Bangladesh are addressing the crisis together with the cooperation of all UN agencies.

"IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, FAO, UN Women, UNDP and other UN agencies are providing emergency humanitarian assistance and services under the coordination and overall supervision of the Bangladesh government," she said.

The prime minister said the government has allowed full access to the UN agencies as well as international and local NGOs to work in Cox's Bazar areas.

Source: unb