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BSS-40
MOMEN-ROHINGYA
Momen fears regional uncertainty if Rohingya crisis not resolved
DHAKA, Oct 7, 2020 (BSS) – Foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today expressed his fear that an uncertain situation could be created in this ‘entire region’ if the Rohingya crisis is not resolved.
“We wanted to make barbed wire fencing surrounding the Rohingya camps, but we could not do it due to the opposition of some international organizations and NGOs … We want to do this (now for keeping the camps safe),” he told reporters at his office.
The foreign minister made the comments as at least seven Rohingyas were killed in clashes over establishing supremacy at the Cox’s Bazar camps in last five days.
“This is sad. This is very sad (killings in Rohingya camps,)… We’ve long been saying that uncertainty might be created in the region if the Rohingya crisis is not resolved,” Momen reacted while commenting over the clashes between two rival Rohingya groups.
He said the countries like Japan, China, India and Korea are investing in Myanmar and they may not get the desired returns on their investment if the Rohingya crisis is left unsettled to create uncertainty in the whole region.
“You’re investing in Myanmar. But if uncertainty surfaces you won’t get the expected returns. So, let’s work together to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis),” said the Foreign Minister.
Saying that no countries did disagree with Bangladesh’s call to end the Rohingya crisis, the foreign minister urged investing countries in Myanmar to find a durable solution through peaceful repatriation of Rohingyas to their land of origin in Rakhine State.
The foreign minister said the government wanted to ban 4G internet network in the Rohingya camps for checking drug as well as women and children trafficking as a racket of human trafficker shares images of Rohingya women through smartphones using high-speed internet.
However, the foreign minister said the international NGOs opposed it and made it their main issue.
At least four people have been killed in an overnight clash between two groups of Rohingyas at the Lombasia camp in Kutupalong of Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday.
Earlier, three Rohingyas were killed during clashes from October 4-5.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh are currently deployed at the camp. Situation is currently under control, the police official said.
Since August 25 in 2017, Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and most of them arrived there after a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and other rights groups dubbed as “genocide”.
In the last three years, not a single Rohingya went back home although Myanmar agreed to take them back.
BSS/ASG/TA/KU/1932 HRS