Staff Reporter :
Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres on Sunday said, the UN is pressing Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
“We are keeping on Myanmar under pressure. We need to put more pressure on Myanmar to make them understand what they should do on this issue,” he said.
Antonio Guterres said this when he along with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her offices in Dhaka on Sunday. This was part of their trip to Bangladesh.
PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting and said the UN and World Bank officials gave their assurances that the organisations would continue their support for Bangladesh on the issue.
Guterres mentioned that the international community reiterated their solidarity with Bangladesh on the issue and appreciated the government of Bangladesh for giving shelter to the Rohingyas.
The UN Secretary General also praised the World Bank for stepping forward to provide help on the issue. The World Bank recently announced a $480 million fund for helping the Rohingyas.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim reiterated that Bangladesh was the organisation’s second largest client, saying that it showed the agency’s faith in the current government.
Both Guterres and Kim also praised Bangladesh’s recent economic development.
The Prime Minister apprised them of the current situation facing the Rohingyas and mentioned that these people started entering Bangladesh in 1977. Sheikh Hasina said, Bangladesh has given shelter to 1.1 million Rohingyas only on humanitarian ground, and all humane services, including healthcare, are being provided to them. She said the government is preparing an island to relocate around 100,000 Rohingyas where they will get better living condition and livelihood opportunities.
The Prime Minister said the local people of Bangladesh are experiencing adverse impacts as over one million people have taken shelter in Bangladesh. ‘We’ve to look into their problem as well and we’re doing that.’
Regarding the dialogue between Bangladesh and Myanmar governments to repatriate the Rohingyas, she said both countries signed agreements over the matter. ‘But they’re yet to take any action for its implementation,’ she said.
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim also met Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the chiefs of UN and WB will go to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar to visit the ongoing situation today (Monday). They will brief the media in Cox’s Bazar after visiting the different camps.
Finally, a joint press briefing has been scheduled on the visit of The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on Monday evening at the Radisson Blue Hotel, Dhaka (Utsab Hall).
At least 700,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military began a crackdown in the state of Rakhine last August. Combined with the approximately 400,000 Rohingyas previously living in Bangladesh, the total refugee population has increased to 1.1 million.
