Stating that Rohingyas are becoming a big burden for Bangladesh, BNP on Thursday said the repatriation of Myanmar’s displaced citizens will not be possible without a proactive role of the international community, especially that of the influential Asian and western countries.
Speaking at a press conference, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also said the government has failed miserably to resolve the Rohingya problem over the last five years as it has been using the issue for its political gain.
“Bangladesh has been bearing the burden of more than 1 million Rohingyas while on average 30,000 Rohingya children are being added every year. Accordingly, the number of Rohingyas has increased to more than 12 lakhs in the last 4 years and this number will continue to increase day by day,” he said.
Against this backdrop, the BNP leader said international solidarity toward Bangladesh and Rohingya refugees is needed now more than ever.
“It’s not possible to send the Rohingyas back to Myanmar unless the international community, including India, China, Japan, the United States and the European countries exert more effective pressure,”
He said the Bangladesh government has to intensify its diplomatic and political efforts to encourage the international community to mount pressure on Myanmar to take back its citizens.
“Though many countries of the world have protested the violence against the Rohingyas, it is regrettable that Myanmar also has large business relations with many of them. The Bangladesh government should identify this dual position of the countries and stop them by carrying out vigorous diplomatic efforts,” he observed.
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Fakhrul bemoaned that the current government is failing to take a clear, effective and specific position on the issues due to narrow political reasons.
BNP arranged the press conference at its chairperson’s Gulshan office, marking five years since the first of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women, boys, and girls fled violence and persecution in Myanmar and sought refuge in what is now the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar.
Fakhrul warned that Bangladesh is going to fall into a big crisis as the government has failed to take any effective steps to resolve this crisis.
Underscoring the need for establishing a democratic government in the country to resolve this crisis, he said the government has failed to exert pressure internationally on Myanmar for the repatriation of Rohingyas due to its knee-jerk foreign policy. “As this government is not a democratic one, it could not get support for Rohingya repatriation in the international arena."
The BNP secretary general said the Rohingya problem is causing unbearable pressure on the economy of Bangladesh apart from creating extreme instability and uncertainty in the local environment and social life.
“Drug trade, women trafficking and various anti-social and illegal activities are going on in Rohingya camps which are contributing to the making the situation turbulent and unstable. Rohingyas are involved in drug smuggling and drug trafficking and indulging in internal conflict. These issues have become a cause of extreme concern,” he said.