Bangladesh seeks help for Rohingyas repatriation

Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen has said that Rohingya refugees staying in his country could turn to extremism and sought help from India and other countries in the region to repatriate them to Myanmar. Delivering a special address at the inaugural session of the two-day Asian Confluence River Conclave, Natural Allies in Development and Interdependence 3 (NADI-3) in Guwahati on Saturday, the minister said that Bangladesh is at present hosting 1.1 million Myanmar nationals in Cox’s Bazar region. “I am talking about the massive influx of Maynamar nationals in Bangladesh who have been forcibly pushed out of their own country and Bangladesh is providing them with food and shelter on humanitarian grounds,” Momen said without attributing the refugees as Rohingyas.

“They are temporarily sheltered in Bangaldesh for the last five years and they all want to go back to their motherland. Since, repatriation has not been started yet, they are getting frustrated and many are getting involved in criminal activities like drugs and human trafficking, violence and crimes,” Momen said. “We are afraid that such activities might create pockets of extremism and radicalism and may lead to uncertainty in the whole region. Therefore, their reparation must be done quickly. I solicit your help and support in this regard,” he added. Momen said that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had taken steps to end extremism and terrorism in the region by dealing sternly with rebel groups from northeastern region who had camps in the country.

Cox’s Bazar is described by some as the ‘world’s largest refugee camp’. According to the UN, Rohingyas are the ‘most persecuted minority in the world’. Rohingyas are a Muslim minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, but have been denied citizenship since 1982.