Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said a good number of Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh from India through fence areas in recent times which he sees as a matter of worry.
“Unfortunately, many Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh from India,” he told reporters, adding that those Rohingyas went to India in 2012.
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Momen said the Rohingyas who are coming after nine years have heard that they will have good food facilities in Cox’s Bazar.
He said their relatives in Cox’s Bazar apparently conveyed to the Rohingyas in India that they are living happily in Cox’s Bazar with good food supply. “As a result, they (Rohingyas) are getting into Bangladesh in groups.”
The Foreign Minister said the bad news is that they are coming through fence areas through brokers at both ends of the Bangladesh-India border.
He said recently a total of 18 Rohingyas have been detained and they are coming in groups. “We have to engage more security forces to stop them.”
Responding to a question, Momen said the government is not only seeking support from the Chinese government but also from other countries including the USA, Japan, Malaysia and Cambodia.
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He said the Rohingyas should go back to Myanmar as they are Myanmar citizens. “They don’t go there but come here.”
Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char Island.