BD starts fresh campaign for Rohingya repatriation

Bangladesh has launched a fresh campaign to woo the international community to create pressure on Myanmar for immediate repatriation of stranded Rohingyas.

Coinciding with the government's renewed efforts, some high-profile foreign dignitaries are now visiting the country either to see for themselves the plight of nearly a million people displaced from their homeland or discuss ways to solve their problems.

Indonesian foreign minister Priansari Marsudi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) special envoy and Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie, UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener, and Canadian Prime Minister's special envoy Bob Rae are now in Bangladesh.

"The international community has to understand that by providing shelter to nearly 0.8 million refugees, Bangladesh has saved the face of the world conscience," Foreign Minister (FM) Dr A K Abdul Momen told the FE.

Now the world community has to be more proactive to ensure immediate repatriation of Rohingyas, he added.

Among the foreign dignitaries, Angelina Jolie, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday, is now in Cox's Bazar to visit Rohingya camps.

The Indonesian foreign minister has met the FM on Monday evening. She has conveyed her government's support to Bangladesh's stance on Rohingya issue.

Bangladesh has been heavily affected by the influx of more than 730,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar since August 2017, and now hosts nearly a million refugees.

The majority of the refugees, more than 620,000 people, live in just one area - Kutupalong, the largest refugee settlement anywhere in the world at present.

UNHCR officials on Monday said Angelina Jolie is undertaking a three-day mission in Cox's Bazar to assess the humanitarian needs of the Rohingya refugees and some of the more critical challenges that Bangladesh has been facing as a host country.

She is focusing on major forced-displacement crises, representing UNHCR at diplomatic level, they added.

The UNHCR special envoy will conclude her visit in Dhaka with official meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the FM as well as other senior officials.

She will discuss how the UNHCR can best support the current response, led by the Bangladesh government, along with the need for providing safe and sustainable solutions to the world's one of the most persecuted minorities.

According to UNHCR, her visit takes place just before the launching of a new appeal for addressing the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh - the 2019 Joint Response Plan. It seeks to raise some US$ 920 million to continue meeting the basic needs of Rohingya refugees and the communities hosting them.

This is Jolie's first visit to Bangladesh. She also met displaced Rohingya people during a visit to Myanmar in July 2015.

Meanwhile, Canadian PM's special envoy on Rohingya issue and a strong voice against Myanmar's atrocities, Bob Rae, will meet the FM today (Tuesday).

UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener will also meet the FM and others concerned tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss Rohingya issues.

Meanwhile, Our Correspondent from Cox's Bazar adds, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie visited Rohingya refugee camps in Teknaf upazila under Cox's Bazar on Monday noon.

The Hollywood filmstar arrived in Cox's Bazar town at around 10.00 am on Monday, and went to Chakmarkul refugee camp directly from the airport. Later, she visited Nayapara and Leda refugee camps in Teknaf.

Angelina Jolie strongly raised voice against sexual violence against Rohingya women and children in Myanmar's Rakhaine state since the military crackdown in August 2017.

She will meet Rohingya women at Kutupalong mega refugee camp in Ukhiya upazila today (Tuesday), who were victims of sexual violence in Rakhaine.

The special envoy will observe UNHCR activities and hold meetings with officials during her visit in Cox's Bazar. She will talk to journalists in the town today (Tuesday).

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