Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam on Thursday said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is now in city on a four-day Ramadan solidarity visit, will give the Rohingya community a message of hope that they will be able to return to their homeland soon in dignity and with safety, and that all of their rights will be fully established and respected.
"We would also urge that the Secretary General will invest his exceptional leadership to make progress toward the objective of their early repatriation and ensure that international aid to Rohingyas are not adversely affected," Alam said while responding to some queries that he received from the media.
"Every Ramadan, I spend time with Muslim communities living in difficult circumstances, to observe the fast with them and help shine a spotlight on their plight. This year I’m in Bangladesh to express my solidarity with Rohingya refugees and the Bangladeshi people hosting them," Guterres said on his Ramadan solidarity visit.
On Friday, one million Rohingyas will break fast in their camps in Cox's Bazar with Guterres and Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
They will participate in the Iftar and hold munajat together, Alam said, adding that the Chief Adviser is hosting the event.
Regarding contact with the Arakan Army, the Press Secretary said considering the newly emerged situation in the Rakhine state, they ought to act and safeguard their border security, stability and peace. "Therefore, we are keeping operational contact with the actors on the other side of the border," Alam said.
He said the solution to the Rohingya issue lies in sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas back to Myanmar.
This should be the highest priority of the international community, Alam said, adding that Bangladesh is relentlessly working toward this objective.
Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees for eight years. In recent months. around 80,000 more Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh.
"It is beyond the capacity of Bangladesh to continue to host the forcibly displaced Rohingyas," Alam said.
He said the international support for Rohingyas has taken a turn for the worse, leading to the decision to cut the daily food ration for the Rohingyas.
"This will severely affect their nutritional status, particularly women and children. It will also have serious social and security implications, including safety and security within the camps and in the host community," Alam said.
He said they reiterate Bangladesh's appeal to all donors and the UN system to ensure that the assistance to Rohingyas is given high priority and aid to them does not diminish.
In light of the dire humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, the Press Secretary said, Bangladesh will positively consider supporting UN-led humanitarian assistance to the state.
UN Secretary-General Guterres arrived in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon with a packed schedule for Friday and Saturday, featuring a series of meetings and greater engagements in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp, before his departure on Sunday morning.
Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain received the UN chief after his arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by an Emirates Airlines flight in the afternoon, said Chief Adviser’s deputy press secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder.
Guterres will meet Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his office on Friday morning.
Adviser Hossain Touhid Hossain and High Representative on Rohingya issue and priority matters Dr Khalilur Rahman will also meet the UN chief at a city hotel.
After these two separate meetings, the UN chief together with the Chief Adviser will travel to Cox’s Bazar to visit the Rohingya camps.