Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants Myanmar to take back Rohingyas. Sheena said that Myanmar has not denied that the Rohingya are its citizens, but it has yet to respond to the repatriation of its displaced citizens. The Prime Minister also stated that Myanmar will have to bring its citizens back to their country.
She said Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights and former president of Chile, has proposed increasing opportunities for education for Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in Bangladesh. However, Hasina said such initiatives would not be possible in Cox’s Bazar, which has been sheltering Rohingya refugees since 2017. Hasina told the UN High Commissioner that steps could be taken to provide better infrastructure for the Bhasan Char island, where more than 20,000 Rohingyas have been relocated so far. During the meeting between Michelle Bachelet and Hasina, various issues such as Russia-Ukraine war, Rohingya crisis, climate change, women empowerment were discussed.
Who are the Rohingya?
The Rohingya are a traditional ethnic group from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. UNHCR ranks the Rohingya among the most vulnerable among the forcibly displaced. Majority of them are Muslims. Myanmar forced 740,000 of its 1.4 million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Many people had also fled to India.