Dhaka wants Washington to mount pressure on Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis, a humanitarian catastrophe which has shaken the human rights loving societies all around the world.
The message was conveyed when Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque had a meeting with US State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Alice G Wells at the foreign ministry Sunday.
“The PDAS will travel to Cox’s Bazar and naturally the Rohingya issue was discussed,” the foreign secretary said.
They wanted to know what Bangladesh expects from the international community, especially from the US, he said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last month attended UN General Assembly and shared the expectation of Bangladesh with the world, he added. “We want secured and dignified return of Rohingyas and they can live peacefully.”
Dhaka also wants justice about the torture and inhuman behaviour they faced in Myanmar, Shahidul said.
Washington is the current chair of the UN Security Council and Dhaka requested them to hold a special debate on the issue.
“They assured us that there would be a special hearing (at the Security Council) possibly on 25th of this month,” he said.
The foreign secretary said Bangladesh is giving equal importance to repatriation and justice. “They (Rohingyas) cannot get justice if they don’t go back.”
A Myanmar delegation led by its foreign secretary will visit Bangladesh on Oct 28 to 30 and they are scheduled to visit Cox’s Bazar to explain Rohingyas what type of rights they would get when they return to Rakhine, said Haque.
“We expect that the repatriation process will be expedited after this interaction,” he added.