Rohingya crisis created by Myanmar; must be solved by them: Bangladesh PM seeks UN focus

Raising issue of presence of Rohingya refugees in Banglesh for more than three years, Banglesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged global community to play a more "effective role" in finding a solution. She said that problem was created by Myanmar and its solution "must be found" in Myanmar.

'Play more effective role for a solution'

Sheikh Hasina in a pre-recorded speech to UN General Assembly on Saturday said, "Banglesh provided temporary shelter to over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. More than three years have elapsed. Regrettably, t a single Rohingya could be repatriated. problem was created by Myanmar and its solution must be found in Myanmar. I request international community to play a more effective role for a solution to crisis."

Nearly one million Rohingya Muslims fled a crackdown by Myanmarese military in 2017 in Rakhine state and are living in camps in Cox's Bazar in Banglesh. Myanmar has faced international pressure to allow Rohingyas to return to Rakhine and grant m citizenship rights.

Like many of her counterparts, Prime Minister Hasina outlined steps her Government has taken to dress Coronavirus crisis and mitigate its impacts. Although COVID-19 has impeded ecomic progress in Banglesh, she said authorities implemented initiatives which prioritized both lives and livelihoods, such as introducing some $13.25 billion in stimulus packs for industries and expanding social safety nets. 

She furr spoke about challenges posed by COVID-19 outbreak and appealed to international community to combat virus with a collective will. "Just as Second World War created opportunities for countries to come toger in ir efforts to cooperate, through establishment of United Nations, similarly this pandemic has emphasised need for collective action under guidance of right leership," Bangalseh Prime Minister asserted.

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'Capacity to go for vaccine production in mass-scale'

" pandemic is a stark reminder that our fates are interconnected and that one is secured until everyone is secured," she said. Banglesh Prime Minister also sought for technical kw-how and patents so that her country can go for vaccine production in mass-scale.

"We hope that COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available in world. It is imperative to treat vaccine as a 'global public good'. We need to ensure timely availability of this vaccine to all countries at same time," she said. "If we are provided with technical kw-how and patents, pharmaceutical industry of Banglesh has capacity to go for vaccine production in mass-scale," Hasina concluded.

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