Keep pressure on Myanmar to expedite repatriation

Bangladesh government has urged the visiting UN Security Council delegation to keep pressure on the Myanmar government to speed up the repatriation process and to recognise the Rohingya situation as a crisis.

The delegation agreed to continue its pressure on the Myanmar government and help find an amicable solution to the humanitarian crisis, three high officials, who attended a meeting held at a hotel in Cox's Bazar yesterday evening, told The Daily Star requesting anonymity.

The delegation lauded Bangladesh's tackling of the situation.

The meeting, presided over by acting foreign secretary Khurshid Alam, started around 7:00pm and went on for over two hours. In the beginning, on behalf of Bangladesh's Armed Forces Division Brig Gen Monirul Islam Akhand, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Abul Kalam, and Director General (South Southeast Asia) Tareq Muhammad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made three presentations.

The presentations highlighted Rohingya people's history in Myanmar, how they have been persecuted and what measures Bangladesh government has taken to handle the situation and the repatriation process.

The delegation assured Bangladesh authorities that they would urge the global community to recognise the problem as a severe one and to come forward to help resolve the problem through various means, including financial assistance.

The visiting delegates wanted to know about important people and sources in Myanmar, who can provide them with the true picture in the Rakhine State during their visit to Myanmar.

The delegation expressed concerns over the upcoming monsoon season and wanted to know the government's plan to avert any disasters.

Bangladesh presented the plans in details and assured the delegation that preparations had been made.

The delegation said the repatriation process was a complex and lengthy one.

Documents, important write ups on the Rohingya issue, a book on Rohingya history and the government's plan on Rohingya relocation in Bhasanchar were handed over to each member of the delegation.

The delegates agreed on most issues discussed, the sources said.

The delegation arrived in Cox's Bazar for a firsthand look at the plight of over 700,000 Rohingyas who fled Myanmar since August 25 last year amid a military crackdown.

Envoys of the permanent UNSC members and non-permanent members reached Cox's Bazar around 4:00pm.

Acting foreign secretary Khurshid Alam, accompanied by other government officials received the delegation at Cox's Bazar airport.

Later in the afternoon, Bangladesh's Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Abul Kalam and Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Kamal Hossain talked with the delegation about the repetition process and the government initiatives on providing humanitarian assistance to the persecuted Rohingyas.

Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign ministry, told The Daily Star that he was hoping the visit would help Bangladesh garner international community's support.

The delegation will visit the Rohingya camps and the zero line along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to see the situation this morning.

The delegation includes permanent representative of the UK and deputy permanent representatives of the US, Russia, France and China, all permanent member states of the UNSC.

The rest are permanent representatives of Bolivia, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland and Sweden. There was no representative from Ivory Coast as the permanent representative of the country passed away recently.

UN officials from Switzerland, Jordan, Egypt, US, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados are also with the delegation.

The delegates from permanent UNSC member states are: Haltao Wu, DPR of China; Anne Christine Marie Gueguen, DPR of France; Dmitry Polyanskiy, First DPR of Russian Federation; Kelley Anne Eckeis-Currie, DPR of the USA; Karen Elizabeth Roxburgh, PR of the UK.

Other member of the delegation are: Sacha Sergio Llorentty Soliz, PR of Bolivia; Anatollo Ndong Mba, PR of Equatorial Guinea; Takeda Alemu, PR of Ethiopia; Kairat Umarov, PR of Kazakhstan; Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaib, PR of Kuwait; Lise Huberta Johanna Van Haaren, DPR of Netherlands; Gustavo Adolfo Meza Cuadra Velasqez, PR of Peru; Joanna Wronecka, PR of Poland; Bjom Olof Skoog, PR of Sweden.

The visiting UN officials are: Claudia Angela Banz of Switzerland, Nesrin Said Amin Hannoun of Jordan, Ahmed Mohamed Abdel Wahab RHB Feshawl of Egypt, Nabi Shafik Awad of the USA, Miranda Camillelucy Moses of Trinidad and Tobago, Igro Anson Gill of Barbados, Jung Hawan Lee of the USA, David Michael Kinna of the UK, Luis Amadeo Solari Antonia of Peru, and Kuwait counsellor S SS Alfassam Talal.