A large number of Rohingyas went abroad many years ago using Bangladeshi passports due to Bangladesh’s own mistakes, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain said on Wednesday, stressing that holding a passport does not make them citizens.
“Due to our own mistakes, a large number of Rohingyas went abroad with Bangladeshi passports many years ago. At that time, the passports were handwritten, and there were numerous allegations of corruption,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The situation is such that those who went with our passports are being pressured by the Saudis to have their passports renewed by us. When a decision is made in the context of any country, many other interests are involved. Just know this: we tried to avoid doing it, but due to our other interests, we ultimately decided to give Bangladeshi passports to these 69,000 Rohingyas. A passport does not mean the person is a citizen of Bangladesh.”
Touhid said passports can be issued to citizens of any country and noted that the 1.3 million Rohingyas in Bangladesh have ancestors who lived in Myanmar for hundreds of years. “They need to be taken back, and the entire world recognizes that Rohingyas are residents of Rakhine in Myanmar. So we have to deal with it from that point of view. Technical issues will not hold us back. If we can create an environment to send them back, there are many other tasks we need to do. Minor technical issues will not stop that.”
On the leaked audio of a US diplomat, he said: “I do not want to comment. We don’t know who will come or what will happen. There is no point in speculating. We will see who wins the election and comes to power, and then they will deal with the United States accordingly.”
Responding to a question on the US ambassador’s comments on China while assuming office, he said: “We will make decisions according to our own interests.”
