PM seeks int’l community’s support to relocate Rohingyas [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

PM seeks int’l community’s support to relocate Rohingyas

Local February 19, 2017

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday sought support from the international community, including Germany, to temporarily relocate illegal Myanmar nationals living in Bangladesh to Thengar Char in Noakhali for providing them with all sorts of facilities.
‘We want cooperation from the international community in this regard [relocation],’ she said.
The prime minister said this when German chancellor Angela Merkel wanted to know the present situation of the Myanmar nationals during the bilateral meeting with Bangladesh prime minister at Hotel Bayerischer in Munich.
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. Deputy press secretary M Nazrul Islam was also present.
He said the prime minister informed the German chancellor that the Myanmar nationals are currently leading a miserable life in Cox’s Bazar and its adjacent areas without any proper civic amenities, including sanitation.
‘That’s why the government wants to relocate them to another place temporarily to provide them with better facilities,’ the prime minister said.
Sheikh Hasina also said these huge Myanmar nationals entered Bangladesh illegally and are now staying in Cox’s Bazar and its adjacent areas which is a tourist spot. ‘Due to this, the environment of the area and tourism sector of the country is affecting to large extent,’ she said.
Recently, state minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam has announced to rehabilitate the Myanmar refugees and said this is going to be a temporary arrangement as they will be repatriated to Myanmar.
Some 70,000 Myanmar nationals have sought refuge in Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh amid persecution by Myanmar military since October last year.
About extremism, Sheikh Hasina reiterated her government’s firm stance of ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against extremism.
The prime minister mentioned that her government has been working to establish 100 special economic zones to speed up the country’s industrialisation as well as to set up hi-tech parks and said, ‘German companies could take advantages to build new business there.’
Highlighting the country’s socio-economic development, the prime minister apprised the German chancellor of various achievements, particularly education, poverty reduction, gender parity and women empowerment.
Recalling with deep gratitude the contributions and support of Germany during the War of Liberation in 1971, Hasina said Germany is a time-tested friend of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina invited the German chancellor to visit Bangladesh which Angela Markel accepted saying she would visit at a mutually convenient time.
During the meeting, the German chancellor welcomed Bangladesh prime minister and highly appreciated Bangladesh’s socio-economic progress achieved by the government of Sheikh Hasina.
Angela Markel hoped that the existing trade relation between the two countries would be further strengthened in the days to come.
After the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the two sides on e-passport implementation project to upgrade the current machine readable passport of Bangladesh.
The two sides also signed a joint declaration of intent on Bangladesh and Germany to conduct a bilateral political exchange on counter terrorism issues.