BD’s position fortified over Rohingyas with UN chief’s visit: EU envoy

Newly appointed EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink on Thursday said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Bangladesh will help strengthen the international community’s support to Bangladesh over Rohingya issue.

Teerink said this when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.

Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

Teerink said the EU (European Union) will step up their support to Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue and provide more 30 million Euro on these displaced people. 

She also mentioned about imposing section on seven Myanmar generals for their involved in carrying out atrocities on the Rohingays in Rakhine state.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has given shelter to 1.1 million Myanmar nationals on humanitarian ground as were displaced from Rakhaine. “These displaced Rohingyas are a burden on Bangladesh.”

The huge number of Rohingyas is occupying the cultivable lands of local people, causing economic problem to them, Hasaia said.

All, including the administration, police, army, BGB and other agencies, are sincerely working to ensure their safe shelter, food and healthcare for the Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh fleeing persecution in Myanmar, she added.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the EU’s role over the refugee issue and said Bangladesh is engaged in dialogue with Myanmar and other five bordering countries of Myanmar to resolve the problem.

Recalling her visit to the EU headquarters during her first term in office, the Prime Minister appreciated EU's continuous support to Bangladesh.

Teerink highly appreciated Bangladesh's tremendous achievement under Sheikh Hasina's leadership in various sectors, including in the economic growth, graduation from least developed country to a developing one, and power generation capacity.

Raising power generation capacity from 3,000 megawatt to 18,000 megawatt is an impressive success, she said.

The EU Ambassador also talked about the current situation in the garment sector of Bangladesh saying that buyers should play a role in ensuring the welfare of garment workers.

In reply, the Prime Minister agreed to that and stressed the importance of buyers’ role in fixation of the prices of garment products.

Hasina said she herself bargained with the owners to raise the wages for the RMG workers.

She said the garment workers are nicely working for development of the sector despite having instigation by a vested quarter from outside to mislead the workers and create troubles in RMG factories.

Talking about the next general election, Teerink said the EU hopes that the election will be held in a transparent and credible manner.

In this regard, Hasina said her party Awami League has always struggled to ensure the democratic rights of people when the state power was confined to cantonment.

She thanked the EU for its help in providing transparent ballot boxes to Bangladesh and introduction of National Identity Cards with photographs in the country.

The EU Ambassador highly appreciated leadership of the Prime Minister for her dynamic leadership as well as Bangladesh’s development, particularly its socioeconomic development.

Principal Secretary Md Nojibur Rahman and PM's Military Secretary Major General Mia Mohammad Jainul Abedin were present.

Source: unb