Bangladesh to pursue diplomatic solutions

Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu yesterday said Bangladesh will seek diplomatic solutions with Myanmar regarding the influx of Rohingya refugees from that country.

"The influx of the refugees has created a volatile situation in South and South-East Asia... We've taken initiatives to reach a peaceful solution so the Rohingyas can go back and live peacefully in their own land," Inu said.

Addressing a press conference at Press Information Department (PID) auditorium on the government's stance over the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, the minister also said, “The Rohingya crisis is an ethnic problem. It isn't a religious issue.” And the only solution to the crisis lies in the peaceful deportation and rehabilitation of the refugees in their own land.

In his written speech, Inu highlighted various humanitarian, diplomatic and political steps the government has taken for the quick and safe return of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.

He also stressed the need for the full implementation of the recommendations made by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan-led commission and the former UN commission to investigate the genocide; engagement in dialogues with the Myanmar government, and seek assistance from all international agencies concerned. The information minister said the government, in order to address the influx of refugees, is undertaking 22 initiatives.  Distribution of food and relief supplies among the Rohingya refugees at 14 locations, construction of 16,000 toilets, ensuring security at the camps, and allotment of 2,000 acres of land for building temporary shelters are a few among the initiatives, Inu said.