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BSS-01
PRESIDENT-ROHINGYS-CICA-SUMMIT
President seeks CICA support to repatriate Rohingyas
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, June 15, 2019 (BSS) – President M Abdul Hamid today
solicited support and cooperation from CICA partners to repatriate the
forcibly displaced Rohingya people to their ancestral homeland of Myanmar
with safety and dignity.
“Bangladesh hosts 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals . . . We
seek a peaceful solution to the crisis and also signed instruments on their
repatriation with Myanmar. (But) if it left unresolved, the crisis could
destabilize the entire region,” he said.
The president was addressing the fifth summit of Conference on Interaction
and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at the Navruz Palace in Tajik
capital of Dushanbe.
The head of the state highlighted Bangladesh’s position on Rohingya crisis,
saying Bangladesh opened its door for Rohingya people, the worst victims of
genocide and gross violation of human rights, which has been termed as a
‘text book example of ethnic cleansing’ and ‘humanitarian catastrophe of
unmanageable magnitude’.
President Hamid said Rohingya people were forcibly displaced from their
ancestral homes, adding that Bangladesh government extended the hand of
cooperation to them on humanitarian ground after they (Rohingyas) sought
shelter in the neighboring country.
Putting stress on working together in different issues in this region, the
president said “We are facing a number of serious issues like violent
extremism, international terrorism and forced migration which go beyond
borders. So we need to coordinate our response to tackle those issues.”
The security in Asia gradually becomes vulnerable as irregular migration,
drug trafficking, territorial claims, ethnic conflicts, separatism, economic
problems and climate change are visible here, he mentioned.
The president said CICA, a multi-national forum established for enhancing
cooperation to promote peace, security and stability in Asia, needs to
enhance its capacity and collective efforts through promoting the concept of
indivisible security to address these crucial challenges.
He called upon CICA member states to work together so that existing
discords in the region should not impede resolving the issues related to
security and cooperation in Asia.
“Stability and security in Asia is imperative for economic development …
We can achieve that through dialogue and cooperation,” Hamid said.
Referring to Bangladesh’s foreign policy on the principle of ‘Friendship
to all, malice to none’, adopted by Father of the Nation of Bangladesh
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he assured that Bangladesh would continue
to uphold the noble principles and objectives of CICA.
In line with that principle, the president said, dynamic and visionary
leader Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina maintains relations with
all external countries emphasizing on peace, stability and development.
“CICA is very relevant to us in this regard,” Hamid added.
MORE/BSS/GMR/1330 hrs