ZCZC
BSS-57
ROHINGYA-CHINA-2-LAST DHAKA
The Chinese envoy said Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh, concerned
Bangladesh foreign ministry official and he himself have been staying in
touch with each other in the past two months to implement the consensuses
those were made during the New York meeting.
He said they have already found a lot of common ground and decided that
the 3,450 Rohingyas who have been verified by Bangladesh and Myanmar, the
Hindu Rohingyas and those living along the “zero-line” would be the
prioritized groups for early repatriation.
Moreover, he said Myanmar has agreed to engage more with the displaced
people to build trust by talking face-to-face with them and to change the
wording on Myanmar’s (National Verification Certificate, NVC) to erase
misunderstanding; while Bangladesh has decided to allocate additional
resources and manpower to adopt more pragmatic approach to repatriation.
Describing Chinese efforts in resolving the crisis, the Ambassador said
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had visited Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2017
after the influx to mediate between the two neighbours — while he chaired
three rounds of informal meetings among China, Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2018
and this year — to find out a tangible solution.
Ambassador Sun Guoxiang Special Envoy for Asian Affairs of the Chinese
Foreign Ministry has been doing “shuttle diplomacy” between Bangladesh and
Myanmar, he said.
Apart from mediating, the envoy said China has been contributing to
solving the Rohingya crisis by providing aid and medical team for the
Rohingya and host community of Bangladesh.
On the Myanmar side, he said China has provided 1100 sets of assembled
house, and another 1000 will be provided to Myanmar for providing
accommodations for Rohingya returnees.
“China’s assistance in this regard may not seem to be much in monetary
terms compared to other donors, but what we provided is tangible stuff solely
meant for the Rohingyas with defined purposes, leaving no space for other
institutions, NGOs or individuals to benefit from it,” he claimed.
The Ambassador who arrived in Bangladesh in late August this year said the
Rohingya issue has become one of the priorities of his work during his not-
too-long stay here.
Former Chairman of Nation Human Rights Commission Kazi Reazul Hoque
presented the keynote paper while United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) Representative Steven Corliss, Security Analyst Major
General Abdur Rashid, among others, also spoke at the seminar.
BSS/ASG/TA/ARS/2001 hrs