Rohignyas turn big burden, PM Hasina tells EU leaders

NEWS DESK

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday (Nov 10, 2022) told a delegation from the European Union that the forcibly displaced Rohingyas sheltered in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char camps were becoming a huge burden for Bangladesh as their number was increasing daily with newborns.

She raised the issue of Rohingya when a five-member delegation of the EU, led by its commissioner for home affairs, YIva Johansson, paid a call to her at her office in Dhaka.

‘The huge number of forcibly displaced Rohingyas is a big burden for Bangladesh, and their number is increasing every day with the birth of new babies,’ Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported quoting the prime minister as saying in the meeting.

During the meeting, the issues of migration, Rohingya, and climate change were prominently discussed.

The prime minister urged the leaders of the European Union to take measures to end the Russia-Ukraine war, as the entire world had been suffering from it, according to the BSS report.

PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the reporters after the meeting.

The EU delegation leader, Johansson, said that her union would continue its support for Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue.

She said that the EU was currently hosting 4.5 million Ukrainian refugees.

The migration of Bangladeshi people by the Mediterranean Sea risking lives was also discussed at the meeting.

The prime minister said that Bangladesh was trying its best to stop illegal migration.

The EU leader said that legal migration could create a win-win situation and ensure mutual benefit.

The EU delegation wanted to know how Bangladesh would face the impact of climate change.

In reply, Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh was able to cope with any kind of disaster as it had taken various adaptation and mitigation programmes with its own financing, BSS reported.

The prime minister expressed her resentment toward rich countries, saying that those responsible for global warming have failed to pay the promised amount of money to climate-vulnerable countries.

‘The rich countries don’t keep their promises,’ she said.

The EU delegation leader praised the prime minister for carrying out great development of Bangladesh.

She also said that Bangladesh and the EU would celebrate their 50 years of diplomatic relations next year.

About women empowerment, the prime minister said that her government attached the topmost priority to women empowerment.

‘We have employed women in every sector, and they are doing well,’ she said.

Meanwhile, the EU commissioner for home affairs announced an additional Euro 3 million in support for the Rohingyas in Bhasan Char at an event at the EU Embassy in the city’s Gulshan on Thursday.

As of October 25, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said it had received $139,143,765 for Rohingyas this year, which is 49 per cent of their funding requirement for the year.

Out of this $139,143,765 the refugee agency received $9,631,222 from the EU. This figure is excluding Euro 3 million announced on Thursday.

Johansson arrived in Dhaka this morning on a two-day official visit to discuss issues of mutual interest, with a special focus on security matters.

Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. Most of them have come to this country since August 25, 2017, when the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting Muslim ethnic minorities.