US would continue to put pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh to save themselves from the atrocities committed on them in Rakhine.
The assurance came when Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali had a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State John J Sullivan Tuesday at the US Department of State in Washington.
In the meeting, the foreign minister urged the deputy secretary Sullivan to continue pressure on Myanmar, says a foreign ministry press release.
“In response, the Deputy Secretary said the United States would continue its pressure on Myanmar to create safe and secured conditions in Northern Rakhine for repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar,” the press release said.
Acknowledging the fact that it is a staggering burden on Bangladesh to host 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar, Sullivan assured that the United States would continue to work with Myanmar government for their early repatriation.
Sullivan also profusely thanked Bangladesh for its role in addressing the Rohingya crisis.
The foreign minister is currently visiting Washington at the invitation of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lead the Bangladesh delegation at the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom.
The State Department is hosting the high-level global meeting on religious freedom on July 25-26.
The foreign minister conveyed sincere thanks and appreciation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the US President Donald Trump and his administration for the strong and consistent humanitarian and political support to Bangladesh in dealing with this massive humanitarian crisis.
He urged the US administration to remain engaged with Myanmar to ensure dignified, safe and sustainable return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.
Rohingyas are the most persecuted community in the world.
The Myanmar military launched a crackdown on them from August 25 and killed thousands of people, gang raped Rohingya women and burned down their houses.
Since then over 0.7 million Rohingyas fled Rakhine, their homeland, and have taken shelter in Cox’s Bazar, a southeastern district in Bangladesh.
During the meeting, Foreign Minister Ali requested the U.S. administration to return Rashed Chowdhury, a convicted killer of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, to face justice.
He said that the return of this convicted killer would create a tremendous amount of goodwill about the United States among the people of Bangladesh.
In response, Deputy Secretary Sullivan stated that he is aware of the issue and the United States Department of Justice is dealing with this.
The Foreign Minister invited Deputy Secretary Sullivan and the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to visit Bangladesh at their earliest convenience.
Earlier in the day, former Governor of New Mexico and former United States Energy Secretary, William Blaine Richardson III, met with Foreign Minister Ali at the Embassy of Bangladesh and exchanged views on issues of common interests and importance with particular focus on the Rohingya crisis.
Upon his arrival at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington D.C., Foreign Minister Ali placed floral wreath at the bust of the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and stood in silence for one minute paying homage to Bangabandhu.