Stand by Rohingyas
Urging all to stand by the Rohingyas, President Abdul Hamid yesterday stressed the need for putting constant pressure on the Myanmar government to take back their people from Bangladesh.
"We must stand by them [Rohingyas] and extend the hand of cooperation to them in their bad time," he said while addressing a function at Ramkrishna Mission in the capital on the occasion of Durga Puja.
The president said millions of people took shelter in Bangladesh after they had faced persecution in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Many of them were from the Hindu community.
"We've to be sympathetic to them ... all national and international organisations should come forward to ensure their safe repatriation and their rights to citizenship," he said.
Terming Durga Puja a "universal festival" of Bangladesh, Hamid said many Hindus could not celebrate their largest religious festival this year in the haor and flood-hit areas of the country as they suffered huge losses in recent floods.
He said Bangladesh is a land of communal and inter-religious harmony where all religious festivals are celebrated with festivities. For the welfare of the country and its people, the nation must stay away from the unruly forces that use religious or social divide, said the president.
He said the government was trying its best to root out militancy and terrorism from the country, and it already achieved success in this regard.
Earlier in the day, Hamid also visited the Dhakeshwari National Temple to observe Durga Puja. He also spoke at a function there.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Biren Sikder, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sayeed Khokon, lawmaker Haji Selim and secretaries concerned to the president accompanied him during the visit.
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