Rohingya Crisis
Killings in Rohingya camp to disrupt repatriation: Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said that one after one incident is being planned in the Rohingya camps to hold back repatriation.
He said, “Those Rohingyas who do not want to return Myanmar for their own interest, they might be committing one massacre after another in Rohingya camps. We will look into the matter.”
He made the remarks in response to a question from reporters after a programme in Sylhet on Friday morning.
Read: Gun attack on madrasa in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp; 7 dead
However, the minister said he did not know the details yet. "We are investigating the whole matter," he said.
Momen said a meeting was held on Thursday to discuss ways to improve law and order inside and outside the Rohingya camps.
“Even then, such a big massacre happened today. Seven people were killed by brushfire; it is a matter of great panic.”
'Urgent global action needed to resolve Rohingya crisis'
Bangladesh has called on the international community and the regional countries to step up their efforts to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Expressing serious concern at the growing sense of hopelessness in the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh over the delay in repatriation, Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Rabab Fatima has said that urgent action is the need of the hour.
Read: Mohib Ullah murder: Another Rohingya suspect detained
"Creating a conducive environment in the Rakhine State and ensuring accountability for the horrendous crimes committed against them are critical in this regard,” she said, while delivering her statement at the 3rd committee general debate held at the UN headquarters on Monday.
“While Bangladesh is doing its best to ensure humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas, including by ensuring vaccination of all the eligible Rohingyas, the ultimate solution to this protracted crisis lies in their safe, sustainable, and dignified return to Myanmar,” she said.
“We will work with the OIC and the European Union on the annual resolution in this Committee on the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar,” the diplomat added.
In her statement, Ambassador Fatima also outlined Bangladesh’s core priorities in the third committee this year.
"Apart from the resolution of Rohingya crisis, the key priorities of Bangladesh include ensuring vaccine equity, promoting women empowerment and addressing violence against women, ensuring rights of children including their right to education, protecting the rights and well-beings of migrant workers, and promotion and protection of human rights at the national and global levels."
Read: Rohingya leader Mohibullah assassinated -
Shedding light on the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on vulnerable people, the Ambassador called for greater solidarity and cooperation to promote an inclusive and resilient recovery.
“The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and exclusion both within and across our societies. And we believe that this Committee has a special responsibility to promote actions to protect the most vulnerable, and to help us chart a recovery that leaves no one behind,” she said.
Hasina places six proposals before world to fight Covid
Terming Covid-19 a common enemy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has placed six proposals before the global leaders to fight the deadly virus with fresh, inclusive and effective ideas.
“Sadly though, this malaise (Covid-19) seems to be here for a while, and therefore, as we had in the past, must come forth with fresh, inclusive, and global ideas to fight this common enemy. Let me highlight a few specific issues in this regard,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while delivering her speech in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) debate at the UN Headquarters on Friday.
Address vaccine inequality
In her first proposal, Hasina said for a Covid-free world, “We must ensure universal and affordable access to vaccines for people across the world.”
In the last UNGA, Hasina said, she called for treating Covid-19 vaccines as a ‘global public good.’ This was echoed by many other leaders. “Yet these calls remain largely unheeded. Instead, we’ve seen growing ‘vaccines divides’ between the rich and the poor nations.”
According to the World Bank, she said, 84 percent of vaccine doses have so far gone to people in high and upper middle-income countries, while the low-income countries received less than 1 percent.
“This vaccine inequality must be urgently addressed. We cannot chart out a sustainable recovery and be safe by leaving millions behind,” she said.
She also said immediate transfer of vaccine technologies could be a means to ensure vaccine equity. Bangladesh is ready to produce vaccines in mass scale if technical know-how is shared with us and patent waiver is granted.
Covid’s disproportionate impacts
In the second proposal, she said the pandemic has disproportionately impacted the climate vulnerable countries. “Unless there are immediate measures, the devastating impacts of climate change will be irreversible. No country, rich or poor, is immune to the destructive effects. We, therefore, call upon the rich and industrialised countries to cut emissions, compensate for the loss and damage, and ensure adequate financing and technology transfer for adaptation and resilience building.”
She said as the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group of Ministers of Finance, Bangladesh has launched the “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan – Decade 2030” outlining a transformative agenda from climate vulnerability to climate prosperity.
She said the upcoming COP-26 Summit in Glasgow provides a good opportunity to rally support for such new and inclusive ideas. “Let us not miss out on this opportunity.”
Read: PM joins opening session of 76th UNGA general debate
Dhaka, London discuss shared priorities ahead of COP26
Bangladesh and the United Kingdom have discussed shared priorities ahead of COP26 and ways to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State Foreign Commonwealth & Development Affairs had a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and discussed the issues of mutual interest.
Read: Climate emergency demands policy shift to adaptation: Global leaders on COP26
Ahmad termed the meeting "productive" on co-ordinating their efforts on Afghanistan, supporting Rohingya refugees and upholding human rights.
"We also discussed shared priorities ahead of COP26," he tweeted.
Want actions, not words: Hasina to global community over Rohingya crisis
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the global community to turn their “words and rhetoric” over the Rohingya crisis into actions to reach a desired solution to the protracted problem.
“We need to go beyond words and rhetoric to have tangible actions to reach a desired outcome which is also the cherished desire of the Rohingyas. Bangladesh will continue to work with all until this solution comes,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while speaking a High-Level Side Event on “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya) crisis: Imperatives for a Sustainable Solution” here on Wednesday.
Bangladesh arranged the event, while eight other countries, including the UK, Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia cosponsored it.
Vaccine equity, Rohingya, climate change on top of Hasina’s UNGA agenda
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to focus on the issues relating to equity in vaccine sharing, sustainable recovery, climate change and Rohingya crisis at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
"Covid-19 vaccines should be a public good without any discrimination," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday sharing the key engagements of the Prime Minister.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen were, among others, present at the press conference.
Prime Minister Hasina leaves here on Friday morning on a two-week official visit to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and other engagements with a stopover in Helsinki, Finland.
The theme of this year’s UNGA is “Building resilience through hope-to recover from Covid-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations.”Dr Momen said the Prime Minister will address the UNGA on September 24 in Bangla and in-person.
The Prime Minister will highlight Bangladesh’s impressive development journey, inclusive economic development, and success in the health sector, said the Foreign Minister.
He said Bangladesh will host a side event on the Rohingya issue titled “Rohingya crisis: Imperatives for a sustainable solution” where many countries are expected to voluntarily join.
Read: Vaccine inequity undermining global economic recovery
The OIC, ASEAN and European countries have already responded positively.
Dr Momen said there will be a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA.
The Prime Minister will deliver a speech at a programme titled “UN Common Agenda: Action to achieve Equality and Inclusion.”
Would never ask anybody to make a choice: Australia on global initiatives
Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jeremy Bruer on Thursday said his country greatly respects Bangladesh’s independent foreign policy towards its engagement in various global initiatives, noting that Australia never asks anybody to make a choice.
"We welcome that approach. We respect greatly Bangladesh's independent Foreign Policy approach. We would never ask anybody to make a choice," he said recalling the foreign policy established by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman - Friendship to all, malice to none.
The High Commissioner made the remarks while responding to questions at "DCAB Talk" organized virtually by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) highlighting issues related to regional geopolitics.
Read:Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka seeks Moscow's support
Issues related to Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the US), China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) came up at the event apart from bilateral and Rohingya issues.
Bangladesh has already joined the China-led BRI and interested in economic aspects of any global initiative like the IPS.
DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin also spoke.
Bangladesh to take its policy towards Afghanistan independently: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has said Bangladesh will decide its policy towards Afghanistan independently noting that what India or Pakistan is doing is not that much important to Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh always decides its foreign policy in the interest of its own and very independently,” he told BBC Bangla in an interview making it clear that the decision of Bangladesh is not linked with that of any other country.
The Foreign Minister said Bangladesh always believes in a people's government that comes through a political and democratic process, and it always extends support to such a government where people’s desire is reflected.
“We’ll extend support if people’s desire is reflected in the new Afghan government. At this moment, we don’t know as we’re yet to understand the situation in Afghanistan,” Dr Momen said, adding that things will depend on how the new Afghan government acts and what policy it adopts after the formulation of the government.
The Foreign Minister, however, said there is a perception to get about the people in Afghanistan as what they want.
Read: Bangladesh observing Afghanistan situation, in touch with stranded citizens
Bhasan Char escapees: 2 children's bodies wash ashore
The bodies of two children who were part of a group of around 50 Rohingyas who tried to escape from Bhasan Char were found after washing up onshore over the last two days.
Police on Friday (August 20) morning recovered the body of an unidentified boy lying in Keoraban on the west Syedpur Sagar coast in Sitakunda and handed it over to the Coast Guard.
Read:Bodies of 11 Rohingya boat escapees from Bhasan Char recovered
Sitakunda Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Sumon Banik confirmed the matter.
“We recovered the body of an unknown child and handed it over to the Coast Guard,” he said.
Coast Guard sources informed UNB that the body was of a Rohingya boy and it would be taken to Bhashan Char very soon.
Similarly on Thursday the body of a Rohingya child named Imam Hossain (11) washed ashore at Bhasan Char.
The victims belong to the same group of Rohingyas whose trawler capsized in the small hours of Saturday due to bad weather in the sea as they tried to flee from Bhasan Char on a fishing trawler they managed to arrange from a broker on the island.
According to the Coast Guard, around two hours after setting off on Friday night (Aug 13), the trawler was caught in a storm and sank in the sea around 20 km from Bhasan Char, near Hatiya. Another fishing trawler rescued 14 of them from the spot and brought them back to Bhasan Char on Saturday morning.
It was only then that the authorities were alerted to the incident and they mounted a rescue and recovery operation. Another boy was rescued alive on Saturday.
Over the next three days, 11 bodies were found by the Coast Guard, in the deep sea and the Swandip coast. Police recovered the body of a 12/13-year-old Rohingya girl from Guliyakhali beach in Sitakunda on Wednesday.
Read: UNHCR ready to support rescue work after Rohingya boat capsize
Noakhali Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Shahidul Islam said the bodies of 13 Rohingyas have been handed over to the relatives of the deceased and the burials have been completed with the permission of Noakhali Deputy Commissioner.
Shamima Akhter Jahan, assistant commissioner in-charge of the Bhasan Char Asylum Project, said that at least 13/14 more Rohingyas are still missing over the incident.
Bangladesh made impressive progress: Canadian Minister
Canadian Minister of International Development Karina Gould has said she is impressed by the resilience and the remarkable progress taking place in Bangladesh.
"Canada has been a friend and development partner to Bangladesh for nearly 50 years," she said, adding that they are committed to continuing to tackle the challenges together, including to support the needs of refugees and people living in extreme poverty.
Read:Dhaka seeks preferential trade facilities from Canada till 2030
The minister said it was important for her, as Minister of International Development, to undertake this virtual visit at this particularly difficult moment marked by challenges ranging from public health, to the economy, climate change, and the continued Rohingya crisis.
On Thursday, Karina Gould ended a "successful" three-day virtual visit to Bangladesh.
All events and meetings were hosted on digital platforms in order to minimize health risks.
“This was my first visit to Bangladesh and, although it was virtual, it allowed me to hear first-hand people’s stories and the challenges they face," said the Canadian Minister.
Minister Gould announced contributions to two important projects in Bangladesh.
The first will see Canada join Brac’s Strategic Partnership Arrangement for the next five years (2021-2026), with a contribution of $45 million.
Read:Canada joins hands with Brac to support vulnerable people
The second provides $2 million in additional Canadian funding to Unicef for the ‘Strengthening Quality Education in Cox’s Bazar’ initiative, to support preparations for the reopening of schools and learning centres.