Bangladesh will place its proposals on future action plans regarding the Rohingya crisis, including the review of progress, in different multilateral meetings during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament on Wednesday.
“We will also have talks with different important world leaders on the issue on the side-line at the UN General Assembly,” the prime minister said replying to a question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Nurul Islam Milon from the Comilla 8 constituency.
The prime minister mentioned that she had placed a five-point proposal aimed at resolving the Rohingya crisis at the 72nd UNGA, which was held shortly after the latest episode of atrocities against the Rohingyas began on August 25, 2017.
“The international community accepted my proposals cordially then,” she added.
Hasina said Bangladesh opened its borders and allowed the influx of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas into its territory as a response to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
“However, there is no scope for the Rohingyas to stay in Bangladesh for very long. We want to repatriate them at the earliest,” the prime minister said.
She further said that safe, respectful and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland would be possible through the Awami League government's diplomatic efforts.
Mentioning that Bangladesh provided shelter to 1.1 million Rohingyas, she said: “Their stay in Bangladesh has created a risk of human trafficking, drug smuggling and other orchestrated crimes.”
The displaced Rohingyas have created a huge negative impact on the local communities and ecology in Cox's Bazar, where the camps are located, and the risk of environmental disaster has emerged due to deforestation in the reserved land and hill-cutting on a massive scale, the prime minister said.
Added to that is the possibility of the breakout of diphtheria, polio, AIDS and other communicable diseases, she added.
The premier said the Rohingya crisis first started in 1978-79, when the influx of Rohingyas to Bangladesh began. But the crisis continued due to the failure of the then military ruler in handling the problem.
In reply to a supplementary question from treasury bench member Dhirendra Debnath Shambhu, lawmaker of the Barguna 1 constituency, the prime minister said Bangladesh experienced another episode of Rohingya influx in the 1980s.
However, in 1991-92, several hundred thousands of Rohingyas entered Bangladesh during the BNP regime. Though Bangladesh was able to repatriate some of the Rohingyas through talks with Myanmar, some of them remained in Bangladesh, she said.
"But our diplomatic success is that we were able to create international opinion that Rohingyas are the victims of injustice, and it is Myanmar’s duty to allow them back into their own country," the prime minister said.
She said the International Criminal Court also had taken measures to try those who were involved in the persecution against the Rohingyas, and Bangladesh continues to provide all the information it has regarding the issue to the court as per its request.
Hasina said during her talks at the recent Bimstec summit, Myanmar President Win Myint said they would take the Rohingyas back.
"I hope Myanmar will be forced to take them back in the face of international pressure," she added.
Responding to another supplementary question from Nurul Islam Milon, the prime minister said: "We had talks with all the countries and all of them acknowledged that hosting 1.1 million Rohingyas is a huge burden on Bangladesh. We received a huge response from all the countries, including China, Russia and India, in pressurising Myanmar. Though they did not put pressure overtly, they told us they would take all necessary measures so that Myanmar takes the Rohingyas back."