Staff Reporter :
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono visited the Rohingya camp in Kutupalong of Cox’s Bazar to see the situation on the ground on Tuesday.
The Japanese government is always beside Bangladesh to solve the crisis, said Taro Kono during the visit.
“The help and support of his government for the Rohingyas will be uninterrupted,” he added.
He also talked to the Rohingya people living at the camp about their problems and demands to get an overview of the situation there.
One Rohingya youth Enamul Hasan, also a teacher at the camps, told the Japanese foreign minister that they do not want to be dependent on Bangladesh for a long time, adding that they want to go back to their country.
“We have only one demand, which is the citizenship of their country Myanmar,” he added.
The Japanese foreign minister arrived in Dhaka last night on a three-day visit.
He is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen in the capital later.
Apart from the Rohingya issue, other matters related to further strengthening Bangladesh-Japan ties would also be discussed during the meeting between the two foreign ministers.
It is expected that Kono’s Rohingya-focused visit will help expedite the ongoing efforts of commencing safe repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar, a Bangladesh foreign ministry official said.
He will leave Bangladesh on Wednesday.
About 1.1 million Rohingyas fled into Bangladesh following mass murder, rape and other sorts of atrocities loomed large in Myanmar’s Rakhine State since August 2017. They are now living in 30 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar district.
