Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the visiting United Nations official that millions of Rohingya refugees living in the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh must return home to Myanmar. More than 7,00,000 refugees fled waves of violent persecution in August 2017 and made Bangladesh their home when the Myanmar military launched a “clearance operation” against them following attacks by a rebel group.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka today. Bachelet visited the camps in Cox’s Bazar district near the border. Meanwhile, PM Hasina made a comment to Bachelet.
Hasina was quoted as saying by her press secretary, Ihsanul Karim, “the Rohingya are nationals of Myanmar and they have to be taken back”. Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most people have been denied citizenship and many other human rights.
The safety situation in Myanmar worsened following a military takeover last year. Earlier this month, during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Bangladesh, it sought cooperation from China in repatriating Rohingya to Myanmar. China brokered a November 2017 agreement in Myanmar aimed at sending them back. Hasina and other cabinet ministers expressed their frustration with Myanmar’s inaction in taking them back.