Bangladesh cannot bear Rohingya crisis long: ex-UN head

By Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday warned of Bangladesh’s incapability to carry the burden of a huge Rohingya refugee group for a long period.

“It is not possible for Bangladesh to host such a large number of Rohingya for a long time,” state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha news agency quoted Moon as saying while visiting a Rohingya makeshift camp in the southern Cox’s Bazar district.

He was accompanied by Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva.

Moon also criticized Myanmar for its visible reluctance to take back the forcibly displaced Rohingya people to their home country.

Pointing to permanent solution of the crisis, Moon said that safe and dignified repatriation of the displaced people is a must for the harmonious solution of the Rohingya crisis.

“Myanmar government should do much more so that Rohingya can return to their homeland without fear and persecution,” Moon said.

Praising Bangladesh’s generosity to the persecuted Rohingya, World Bank’s Georgieva said: “Bangladesh opened its border while its people opened their heart to Rohingya.”

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, extending the figure of the persecuted people here more than 1.1 million.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience".

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.