In a hard-hitting statement, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said that the Rohingya Muslims are a threat tothe security of not only Bangladesh but the entire region.
Urging the world community to resolve the issue, Sheikh Hasina said that the development and prosperity of any country can’t be ensured with the presence of such threats.
“In terms of regional security, I would like to say that more than 1.1 million Rohingya citizens of Myanmar fled to Bangladesh in the face of persecution and they are a threat to the security not only for Bangladesh but also for the region,” the Bangladesh prime minister said while addressing the three-day ‘Dhaka Global Dialogue-2019’ in Dhaka.
“I urge the world community to take appropriate action realising the gravity of the threat. It will not be possible to ensure development and prosperity of any country without having peace and safety,” she was quoted as saying by the official Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency.
According to the UN, as of May 24, 2018, more than 9,00,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar’s restive Rakhine State since 2017 after large-scale violence following a military crackdown. The exodus of refugees in large numbers has resulted in a major crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh.
The dialogue, which commenced on Monday, was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) and India-based independent think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
Over 150 delegates from over 50 countries are taking part in the dialogue to discuss, ideate and debate the most pressing global imperatives.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, ORF president Samir Saran and BIISS Director General Major General AKM Abdur Rahman also spoke at the function.
Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states, including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
