Bangladesh ‘dismayed’ at Myanmar continuous misrepresentation of Rohingya crisis
Anietie Udobit, Abuja
The Government of Bangladesh has expressed dismay over the continuous misrepresentation of fact, falsification and accusation by the Government of Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis
In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, October 30, 2019, and signed by Md. Tohidul Islam, Senior Information Officer, made available to News Dot Africa by the Country’s High Commission in Nigeria, the Bangladesh government said, “It is a matter of utter dismay to witness persistent campaign on the part of the government of Myanmar to mislead the International community with fabricated information, misrepresentation in order to avoid its obligations for the sustained repatriation and reintegration of the forcibly displaced Rohingya in safety and dignity.”
The Government condemned recent statement by Myanmar Union Minister for International Cooperation, Mr. U Kyaw Tin, which accused Bangladesh of Mischaracterizing Rohingya crisis as “religious persecution”, “driving an ethnic group out of the country”, “ethnic cleansing” or “genocide”. It said such observations are made by international community based on documented evidence, which bear the unmistakable signs of forcible deportation of a community from its ancestral homeland in Rakhine under atrocity crimes on civilian population.
Bangladesh reiterates that there are no terrorist activities at Rohingya camps, “It is not possible to operate terrorist bases anywhere in Bangladesh because of high alertness and effective preventive measures by the security forces in the line with ‘zero tolerance policy’ of the present government under the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina”, the statement continues “ the government of Bangladesh has taken adequate measures to ensure that the potential returnees are able to express their views on return without any influence or threat from any quarter. Myanmar must refrain from implicating Bangladesh into its internal political and security conundrum and may respond positively to Bangladesh’s offer for a comprehensive cooperation mechanism in the combat of terrorism”.
The Bangladesh government reminds Myanmar of its continuous effort in resolving the protracted problem through dialogue, maintaining friendly relations with Myanmar. It condemned the “unjustifiable accusation on the part of a party who is entirely responsible for the crisis”. The statement reads “Such venture would undermine Bangladesh’s current efforts to resolve crisis. The government of Bangladesh rejects such baseless accusation, falsification, and misrepresentation of facts. The government of Myanmar must stop such concocted campaign and rather concentrate on the fulfillment of its obligations. Myanmar must act decisively to address the real causes that are preventing the displaced Rohingya from going back voluntarily. Myanmar should seriously consider a comprehensive participation of the international community in the creating of an environment conducive for return as well as In the monitoring of repatriation and reintegration process. Myanmar should also cooperate with international community to eliminate the culture of impunity for the sake of a durable solution to the protracted problem”. The statement ends.
