Turkish foreign minister arrives today
Erdogan calls Suu kyi to condemn Rohingya abuse
Special Correspondent
Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlt avuşoğlu will arrive in Dhaka today to discuss the Rohingya issue. His visit comes a day after visiting Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi held a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali over the Rohingya crisis. The Turkish foreign minister will arrive here this evening, sources in the foreign ministry said yesterday. During his visit, Mevlt avuşoğlu is scheduled to visit temporary camps at Coxs Bazar where Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar are being sheltered.
According to Turkeys media, Turkeys foreign minister spoke to foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali over phone on September 4 in a bid to find a solution to the ongoing tragedy of tens of thousands Rohingya escaping the bloodshed.
avuşoğlus talk with Ali came as part of Turkeys week-long efforts to find a safe haven for fleeing Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, with the Turkish government offering to provide financial assistance to the Bangladeshi government.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already described the killings of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar as genocide. Erdoğan had launched a massive diplomatic campaign to draw attention to the continued violence against the Rohingya Muslims. He has held phone conversations with more than 20 world leaders so far, including UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.
AFP adds: The Turkish president yesterday condemned escalating human rights violations targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority during a phone call with Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Turkish presidential sources said.
The United Nations said 123,600 had crossed into Bangladesh in the past 11 days following an uptick in fighting between militants and Myanmars military in strife-torn western Rakhine state, which raised fears of a humanitarian disaster.
The latest violence, which began last October when a small Rohingya militant group ambushed border posts, is the worst Rakhine has witnessed in years, with Erdogan last week accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Erdogan has stepped up diplomacy and spoke on the phone with Muslim leaders during the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival, seeking ways to solve the humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. He also spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Bangladesh on Wednesday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
In the phone call with Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner of Myanmars junta, Erdogansaid growing human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims deeply concerned the entire world, sources from his office said.
Suu Kyi has come under fire over her perceived unwillingness to speak out against the treatment of the Rohingya or chastise the military.
Erdogan said Turkey condemns terror and operations against innocent civilians, adding that the developments in Myanmar had turned into a serious humanitarian crisis which caused worry and resentment.
The Turkish leader had previously said he would bring up the issue at the next UN General Assembly in New York later this month.
Guterres on Friday said he was deeply concerned by the situation in Myanmar and called for restraint and calm to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.
The Rohingya are reviled in Myanmar, where the roughly one million-strong community are accused of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
