A visiting US official Bangladesh said Saturday that Myanmar must take the responsibility for repatriation of thousands of Rohingya refugees who were forced to flee the country amid a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State.
“Rohingya Muslims should be taken back safely to their homes after they were forced to flee Bangladesh following military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state,” said Simon Henshaw, the visiting acting assistant secretary for the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
He said this at a news conference in Dhaka on Saturday.
“Myanmar must take responsibility for the refugees’ repatriation and the US would continue to support Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh because of persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The US wants speedy efforts to bring stability to Rakhine, he added.
Henshaw, who visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar on Friday, said that the Rohingya crisis was a complex one and that the US would continue to encourage dialogue for resolving it.
“Myanmar must ensure a safe and stable environment in Rakhine so that the Rohingya can return home,” he added.
Henshaw praised Bangladesh’s government and its people for supporting the refugees.
More than 600,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh since late August amid a crackdown that the UN has called “ethic cleansing.”
Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, told the news conference that
the Rohingya crisis was getting the “top attention” not only in the State Department but in the White House.
“White house is very concerned about this Rohingya crisis. It is in fact, it is at the top of discussions in Washington,” she said.
Heather Nauert also said the US was working so that Rohingya can return to their homes voluntarily and with dignity.
The US has already allocated $32million in aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
