DHAKA, Nov 27, 2019 (BSS) – Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said
the upcoming scheduled visit of army chief General Aziz Ahmed to Myanmar will
open ‘another line of negotiation’ between Dhaka and Naypyidaw in resolving
the Rohingya crisis.
“I think it (army chief’s visit) will bring good outcome (in resolving
Rohingya crisis),” he told newsman at a press briefing at the State Guest
House Padma here.
The foreign minister held the press briefing to inform the media about the
upcoming visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Spain.
The premier is scheduled to leave Dhaka on December 1 to join 25th annual
Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Madrid on December 2.
The foreign minister noted that Bangladesh maintains friendly bilateral
relation with Myanmar, saying Dhaka would like to resolve the Rohingya crisis
through dialogue with Naypyidaw.
“The Rohingya crisis was created by Myanmar and the solution also lies
there (in Myanamr),” he added.
Momen observed that the army chief’s visit to Myanmar will bring positive
development in the Bangladesh’s efforts to start repatriation of the forcibly
displaced Rohingyas to their land of origin in Rakhine state as military
authority plays an important role in Myanmar.
The foreign minister said the makeshift camps made for Rohingyas at 6800
acres of forest land in Cox’s Bazar affected the entire ecosystem of the
country’s south-eastern part.
“It’s like a disaster … that land would have been used for elephants
grazing,” he said, adding that Bangladesh will focus on the environment
degradation in Cox’s Bazar due to the Rohingya influx during the upcoming
COP-25 in Spain.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in
Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there since August 25, 2017
after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook
example of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide” by other rights groups.
In last two years, not a single Rohingya was repatriated as Myanmar failed
to build trust among their forcibly displaced nationals that there is a
conducive environment prevailing in Rakhine State to go back.
Turning to Myanmar’s propaganda against Bangladesh that repatriation has
been delayed due to Dhaka, Momen said “It’s a blatant lie .. hilarious … we
are stands ready to start repatriation, whenever they want we will give
(Rohingyas) to them (Myanmar) straightway.”
Rejecting all baseless accusation, falsification, and misrepresentation of
facts against Bangladesh over Rohingya repatriation, the foreign ministry
this week issued a statement, warning Myanmar of stopping concocted
campaigns.