Staff Reporter :
The US has initiated talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar for resolving the crisis over Rohingyas who fled their homeland amid persecution, said US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat on Thursday.
However, the US ambassador said, “Sending the Rohingyas back to their homeland is a long process and it is not possible to resolve the problem in a month.”.
She revealed this to the journalists after visiting a registered Rohingya camp at Kutupalong at 12:30pm.
She said the US has full support to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s five-point demand to end the crisis.
Sheikh Hasina placed a five-point proposal at the United Nations for a permanent solution to the crisis.
Bernicat said they will urge the Myanmar government to implement the Annan Commission’s report.
She said the United States, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an additional $6 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to assist the Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh amid persecution in Myanmar. This funding is in addition to the $1 million provided to WFP earlier this year.
Bernicat also visited the offices and service centres of international agencies like IOM (International Organization for Migration), Unicef and UNHCR.
Assuring that it will always be there with Bangladesh over Rohingya issue, the United Kingdom on Thursday proposed three ‘options’, including implementation of the recommendation of the Kofi Anan Commission to resolve the crisis.
British State Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth office (FCO) Mark Field presented their ‘options’ at a press conference at its High Commissioner’s residence here.
Mark who had been on a three-day visit in Myanmar before coming to the Bangladesh, he said Myanmar de facto head of government Aung San Suu Kyi assured him of taking back all the Rohingya refuges from Bangladesh.
“All forms of violence in Myanmar must be stopped and the government must allow all humanitarian access in Rakhine State and it will have to urgently implement the recommendations of Kofi Anan Commission.” he said.
“In my view, these three options will help end the violence and allow Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists and other community members to live side by side in a peaceful manner,” the UK minister said adding that their country is encouraging Myanmar to take immediate action to end the problem.
“Suu Kyi is in a difficult situation and she has no control over the military, and military is constitutionally more powerful there, however, in a meeting with me yesterday (Wednesday) she assured that she wants all refugees to return to Myanmar,” he said.
Mark Field said Suu kyi is trying to find the ‘fine line’ between international pressure and domestic compulsion.
State Minister of the Department for International Aid Alistair Burt and London Acting High Commissioner to Dhaka David Ashley were also present.
