The Parliamentary Standing Committee has expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of effective role in repatriating Rohingyas to Myanmar. The chairman of the committee also questioned the role of India, a friendly neighbor of Bangladesh.
The issue was discussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs held at the Sangsad Bhavan on Wednesday (February 10). According to the working paper of the meeting, the chairman of the parliamentary committee expressed dissatisfaction with India's bilateral role and also described their role as unfortunate. Besides, it was also mentioned in the meeting that misinformation was going on in the international media due to the word 'char' of Bhasanchar.
Muhammad Farooq Khan, chairman of the committee, said, “Despite many bilateral and multilateral discussions on the Rohingya issue, there is no positive direction in resolving the issue but multilateral support is declining day by day.
He said that India is a friendly neighbor of Bangladesh but by supporting Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue, they are playing a neutral role in the international forum and by providing missiles to Myanmar, they are supporting Myanmar in various ways. India's two-pronged role is an obstacle to resolving the Rohingya issue - which is very sad. "
During the meeting, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, “Myanmar has created the Rohingya problem and it is their responsibility to solve it. But they lack enough sincerity to solve it. There is currently a case pending in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Rohingya issue, which requires a lot of money to manage. Although financial assistance was sought from OIC countries in this regard, no such assistance was received. However, the ICJ's interim verdict is in favor of Bangladesh. Bangladesh continues its diplomatic efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas. Although the Myanmar authorities have shown a positive attitude towards the return of Rohingyas in various meetings, in reality they are not keeping any word. If the neighboring countries had played a proper role in this, the way to solve the problem would have been open. ”
Mentioning that misinformation is being spread about Bhasanchar, the foreign secretary said that a project was taken up in 2018 at a cost of around Tk. 2,500 crore to relocate one lakh Rohingyas to Bhasanchar. A UK-based company is exploring the possibility of constructing a Rohingya dormitory in Bhasanchar, on the basis of which a 17-foot-high embankment has been constructed and a residential building with modern facilities has been set up at the Hospital Cyclone Center. Initially about two and a half thousand Rohingyas expressed interest but in the end 350 Rohingyas went there voluntarily. No Rohingya were forced here.
He said the name of the place was 'Bhasanchar' which was promoted as 'Char' in the international media and the chars usually drowned at high tide but in reality it was an island and did not sink during high tide. With this misconception, international organizations have been objecting to the relocation of Rohingyas there. An on-the-spot inspection by the UN Protection Committee on the current situation in Bhasanchar could therefore be considered.
The meeting also greeted the External Affairs Minister, State Minister and the Ministry of External Affairs for receiving the Covid-19 vaccine from India in a timely manner. It is also recommended to take initiative to import vaccines from other organizations approved by the World Health Organization and to keep proper process of importing vaccines from India.
The newly appointed Ambassador of Bangladesh to Ethiopia presented the action plan at the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by the chairman of the parliamentary committee Muhammad Farooq Khan, committee member Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, State Minister Shahriar Alam, Nurul Islam Nahid, Golam Farooq Khandaker Prince, Nizam Uddin Jalil (John), Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Md. Habib-e -Millat and Md. Abdul Majid Khan participated.
The meeting was also attended by the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the newly appointed Ambassador to Ethiopia, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commerce and the concerned senior officials of the Parliament Secretariat.