Bangladesh can’t deal with Rohingya situation alone: Ban Ki-moon

Former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon on Saturday called for a political solution to the Rohingya crisis allowing them to return to their places of origin in Rakhine State ‘freely and safely’.

‘There should be a political solution,’ he told reporters after his meeting with foreign minister AK Abdul Momen at a city hotel seeking Myanmar’s steps to end the Rohingya crisis.

Ban appreciated Bangladesh’s role for sheltering over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar camps and sought continued support for Rohingyas from UN agencies, humanitarian organisations and other non-government organisations.

He said he is very much grateful for the humanitarian support and assistance extended by Bangladesh people and government to Rohingyas saying Bangladesh cannot deal with it alone.

The former UN chief said the Rohingya issue is one of the ‘very sad and tragic’ situations and he has been urging Myanmar government to take steps ‘more compassionately’ and support those Rohingyas.

‘It was hard to describe…I was so sad,’ he said, sharing his experience of visiting Rohingya camps last time.

Ban said though Bangladesh government is in close consultation with the Myanmar government, there should be a political solution to the crisis.

He said the Myanmar government should take much more generous and compassionate efforts for Rohingyas.

Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox’s Bazar since August 25, 2017 amid a military crackdown on Rohingyas in Rakhine State.

Not a single Rohingya was repatriated over the last two years due to Myanmar’s ‘failure’ to build confidence among Rohingyas and lack of congenial environment in Rakhine State, officials here said.

Bangladesh has so far handed over names of over 1 lakh Rohingyas to the Myanmar authorities for verification and subsequently expediting their repatriation efforts but Myanmar is yet to take back its nationals from Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda on Friday said her investigation will seek to ‘uncover the truth’ and will now focus its efforts on ensuring the pursuit and success of its independent and impartial investigation.

‘In doing so, we aim to bring justice to victims and affected communities, and count on the full support and cooperation of States Parties, civil society, and other partners,’ she said in a statement following judicial authorisation to commence an investigation into crimes committed against Rohingyas.

On November 14, the Judges authorised an investigation with broad parameters.

‘This is a significant development, sending a positive signal to the victims of atrocity crimes in Myanmar and elsewhere,’ said Bensouda.

The judges accepted that there is a reasonable basis to believe that there may have been a state policy to attack the Rohingya population, and that members of the Myanmar armed forces (Tatmadaw), jointly with other Myanmar security forces and with some participation of local civilians, may have committed these crimes against humanity.

The former UN chief arrived in Dhaka on Friday night on a brief visit, the second visit to Bangladesh this year, after leaving the United Nations.

News Courtesy: www.newagaebd.net