Dhaka to push for ending Rohingya marginalisation

OIC MEET ON ROHINGYAS IN KL TODAY

Bangladesh will place great emphasis on ending the marginalisation of Rohingyas and ensuring their citizenship and sustainable residence in their homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar at the extraordinary meeting of OIC council of foreign ministers to be held in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur today, diplomatic sources told The Independent.

The meeting has been convened by the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference), a group of 57 Muslim countries, upon the request from Malaysia to discuss the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, according to the OIC website.
The meeting will discuss genuine steps that the OIC and the international community should take to urge the Myanmar government to allow delivery of humanitarian assistance to Rakhine state, address the root causes of the violence, and widen the scope of dialogue among the groups to ensure the return of the displaced Rohingyas to their homes in safety and dignity.  The situation of the more than 120,000 displaced and refugee Muslims within Myanmar will also come up for discussion at the meeting being held against the backdrop of atrocities orchestrated by the Myanmar military and local Buddhists against Rohingyas since October 9 following the killing of nine Myanmar border guards. 

The violence by the Myanmar military forced 66,000 Rohingyas to cross into Bangladesh. This figure is in addition to two to five lakh Rohingyas already living in Bangladesh for decades.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will lead the Bangladesh delegation in the absence of Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, who is now in Switzerland to accompany Prime Minister at the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Meanwhile, OIC Special Envoy to Myanmar Syed Hamid Albar yesterday told Reuters that the United Nations should intervene in Rakhine state to stop further escalation of violence against Rohingya Muslims and avoid genocides like in Cambodia and Rwanda.
“Our position is crystal clear. Myanmar must take back all of its nationals living in Bangladesh creating various socioeconomic and security problems,” a diplomat, who belongs to the Bangladesh delegation that will represent Bangladesh at the OIC meeting, told The Independent.
“Myanmar must also address the root cause, ensure citizenship for the Rohingyas and create a sustainable situation where the Muslim minority will be able to live peacefully,” he said.
“We will strongly stress on the need for ending the marginalisation of Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state,” said another diplomat, adding that systematic state-sponsored persecution of Rohingyas must end.
Replying to a question, the diplomats said that it is still unclear whether any resolution will be adopted or any communiqué or statement will be issued.
“But, there will be something,” said a senior diplomat.
About the UN intervention suggested by OIC Special Envoy to Myanmar, the diplomats said that Bangladesh would be happy if the global body is involved.
“As a matter of fact, when Myanmar’s special envoy visited Bangladesh last week we put forward a proposal to involve the international community with the repatriation process. There is no reason as to why Bangladesh will be not happy to see a UN intervention into the crisis,” said a senior diplomat.
It may be mentioned that a UN team is already in Cox’s Bazar on a fact-finding mission while a UN special envoy on Rohingya issues is visiting Myanmar.
The diplomatic sources also said that Bangladesh is trying to engage the international community including some powerful countries as well as regional powers to ‘put pressure on or persuade’ Myanmar to make efforts to come to a solution to the protracted Rohingya issues.
“We are simply doing our best to project the plight of Rohingyas and Myanmar’s treatment of its nationals in the world by engaging with the international players in order to get rid of the problem,” said a senior diplomat.
The sources said Bangladesh made communications with China and India, Myanmar’s two influential neighbours, and ASEAN countries as well as countries from across the world.

Dhaka to push for ending Rohingya marginalisation

OIC MEET ON ROHINGYAS IN KL TODAY

Bangladesh will place great emphasis on ending the marginalisation of Rohingyas and ensuring their citizenship and sustainable residence in their homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar at the extraordinary meeting of OIC council of foreign ministers to be held in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur today, diplomatic sources told The Independent. The meeting has been convened by the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference), a group of 57 Muslim countries, upon the request from Malaysia to discuss the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, according to the OIC website. The meeting will discuss genuine steps that the OIC and the international community should take to urge the Myanmar government to allow delivery of humanitarian assistance to Rakhine state, address the root causes of the violence, and widen the scope of dialogue among the groups to ensure the return of the displaced Rohingyas to their homes in safety and dignity. The situation of the more than 120,000 displaced and refugee Muslims within Myanmar will also come up for discussion at the meeting being held against the backdrop of atrocities orchestrated by the Myanmar military and local Buddhists against Rohingyas since October 9 following the killing of nine Myanmar border guards. The violence by the Myanmar military forced 66,000 Rohingyas to cross into Bangladesh. This figure is in addition to two to five lakh Rohingyas already living in Bangladesh for decades. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will lead the Bangladesh delegation in the absence of Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, who is now in Switzerland to accompany Prime Minister at the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Meanwhile, OIC Special Envoy to Myanmar Syed Hamid Albar yesterday told Reuters that the United Nations should intervene in Rakhine state to stop further escalation of violence against Rohingya Muslims and avoid genocides like in Cambodia and Rwanda. Our position is crystal clear. Myanmar must take back all of its nationals living in Bangladesh creating various socioeconomic and security problems, a diplomat, who belongs to the Bangladesh delegation that will represent Bangladesh at the OIC meeting, told The Independent. Myanmar must also address the root cause, ensure citizenship for the Rohingyas and create a sustainable situation where the Muslim minority will be able to live peacefully, he said. We will strongly stress on the need for ending the marginalisation of Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, said another diplomat, adding that systematic state-sponsored persecution of Rohingyas must end. Replying to a question, the diplomats said that it is still unclear whether any resolution will be adopted or any communiqu or statement will be issued. But, there will be something, said a senior diplomat. About the UN intervention suggested by OIC Special Envoy to Myanmar, the diplomats said that Bangladesh would be happy if the global body is involved. As a matter of fact, when Myanmars special envoy visited Bangladesh last week we put forward a proposal to involve the international community with the repatriation process. There is no reason as to why Bangladesh will be not happy to see a UN intervention into the crisis, said a senior diplomat. It may be mentioned that a UN team is already in Coxs Bazar on a fact-finding mission while a UN special envoy on Rohingya issues is visiting Myanmar. The diplomatic sources also said that Bangladesh is trying to engage the international community including some powerful countries as well as regional powers to put pressure on or persuade Myanmar to make efforts to come to a solution to the protracted Rohingya issues. We are simply doing our best to project the plight of Rohingyas and Myanmars treatment of its nationals in the world by engaging with the international players in order to get rid of the problem, said a senior diplomat. The sources said Bangladesh made communications with China and India, Myanmars two influential neighbours, and ASEAN countries as well as countries from across the world.