Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Tulip Siddiq, speaking during a debate on “The Rohingya and the Myanmar Government,” said she was proud of Bangladesh for taking in more than half a million Rohingya refugees.
The debate was held at the The House of Commons in London, England on Tuesday, where the Tulip said: “For the purposes of this debate, I declare that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh is my aunt.
“Myanmar’s history shows that the systematic oppression and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya has been going on for decades.
“I am proud of what Bangladesh has done. Bangladesh is a very poor country. Having lived and been to school in Bangladesh, I know there is enormous poverty in that country. Bangladesh has opened its doors and accepted people who are so vulnerable, and I call on the Government to support Bangladesh because it cannot handle the sheer numbers of Rohingya who are crossing the border. Those people are desperate to live, but they do not have the means and resources to go on.
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“I hope that Members will allow me to speak about the experiences of my mother, who visited the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh last month. The UN states that, as of October 5, half a million Rohingya are living in those refugee camps, and the stories that my mother told me are harrowing.
“She spoke about a woman whose baby was ripped from her bosom and thrown into a fire by military personnel. Another woman told her how a toddler was snatched away from its parents, put on the ground and stamped to death by the military. Young children have been raped in front of their elderly grandparents. There has been systematic abuse and gender-based violence against the Rohingya
“I would like my Government, the British Government, to help it to ensure we stop this ethnic cleansing and genocide so that people point to my country, England, where I am an MP, and say, ‘They are the people who helped to stop this crisis.’”
The debate was organised by Anne Margaret Main, Conservative MP for St Albans and Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow. Anne Margaret Main was recently in Bangladesh to visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’ Bazar.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
