Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the Rohingyas, who fled from Myanmar to her country, are a “threat to the security” of the region.
Hasina said this while addressing the three-day ‘Dhaka Global Dialogue-2019’ in Dhaka.
As of May 24, 2018, according to UN, over 9 lakh Rohingya Muslims fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine State since 2017 following massive military crackdown.
Myanmar, which shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including insurgency-hit Nagaland and Manipur, is one of India’s strategic neighbours.
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Hasina has urged the global community to resolve the issue of Rohingyas, who fled to Bangladesh in the wake of “persecution”.
The exodus of Rohingiya refugees in huge numbers has resulted in a major crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh.
A media report reported that more than 1.1 million Rohingya are currently residing in the refugee camps of Bangladesh following the crackdown in 2017.
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A media report quoted Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina as saying, “The Rohingyas, who fled to Bangladesh due to the military atrocities, are not only a threat to Bangladesh but also to the regional security.”
“I urge the world community to take appropriate action realising the gravity of the threat. It will not be possible to ensure development and prosperity of any country without having peace and safety,” she was quoted as saying by the official Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency.
The dialogue commenced on Monday.
The event has been jointly organised by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and India-based independent think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
In her speech, the Bangladesh PM emphasised the need for cooperation among the countries in the Asia Pacific region to ensure socio-economic development, security and peace.
The dialogue has been participated by over 150 delegates from over 50 countries.
Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen, BIISS director general Major General AKM Abdur Rahman and ORF president Samir Saran also spoke at the event.