DHAKA, Sept 25, 2019 (BSS) – Calling upon the international community to join Bangladesh and Malaysia to end the miseries that have befallen the Rohingyas, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the Rohingya crisis should be ended immediately.
“We need to put an end to the crisis and we need to do it now,” Mahathir said during a high-level side event titled “Rohingya Crisis: A Way Forward” at the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the meeting, according to a message received here today.
Criticising the United Nations for its “deafening silence” on the Rohingya crisis, Mahathir said: “For a start, the UN should play its role, taking into account that it was established in hopes of preventing future human-made miseries. Its silence is deafening.”
“It is clear that the Myanmar government is unwilling to take any action to resolve the crisis. Therefore, it is left up to us – the international community – to do something about the situation,” the Malaysian premier said.
Hitting out at Myanmar, he said: “Let us start by calling a spade, a spade. What happened in the Rakhine State is genocide. What took place were mass killings, systematic rape and other gross violations of human rights…this resulted in Rohingyas fleeing the country en masse. Most ended up in Cox’s Bazar.”
Lauding Bangladesh for hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya people, Mahathir said: “While this may seem like a small number compared to those in Bangladesh, plenty of resources have been dedicated to allow them a decent life while they await relocation to a third country”.
Rending his support to Bangladesh in this regard, he said Malaysia has tried to do all it could for the Rohingyas. “Apart from rendering humanitarian assistance, Malaysia is operating a field hospital in Cox Bazar. We are also hosting close to 100,000 registered Rohingyas. There are many more unregistered.”
“We will continue to help the Rohingyas within our means and capacity,” he added.
Dr Mahathir said while Myanmar was arguing that it was responding to the threat of terrorism, it was “ironic that millions fled in fear of such counter-terrorism measures. “Many faced untold brutality and were even at risk of seeing an entire generation wiped out. “Some were able to escape but these lucky ones are now unable to return to their homes in Myanmar. “One thing is clear: the longer the refugees stay in the camps, the more desperate their situation becomes,” he said.
Dr Mahathir reiterated that Myanmar should demonstrate that it was serious in alleviating the Rohingya crisis. “Repatriation should be the main priority. Two attempts have been made to repatriate some of the refugees. Both have failed.
“Reasons for this are obvious. No one would return if they do not feel that their safety is guaranteed. On this, Malaysia will continue to insist that repatriation be done in a safe, voluntary and dignified manner.
“This can only be done by granting full citizenship to the Rohingyas. However, the Myanmar authorities have manipulated the Rohingya issue to incite fear, hatred and violence. Thus, merely considering the idea of granting citizenship is unacceptable,” he added.
Mahathir commended the positive effort of the OIC in addressing the Rohingya issue at the international fora and for the decision to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice.
“We hope other countries would support the OIC to ensure that the perpetrators do not get away with the heinous crimes that they have committed,” he added.