OIC plans possible actions Jan 19
Bangladesh to place its
position at spl meet
As part of continued 'serious
concerns' regarding the situation of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar,
member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will come
together in Kuala Lumpur on January 19 to discuss possible actions on the
pressing issue, reports UNB. This is going to be an 'extraordinary' meeting of
the Council of Foreign Ministers, a senior official told UNB on Monday. State
Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam is expected to represent
Bangladesh at the meeting. Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will accompany Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina during her Switzerland visit at that time. The Prime
Minister is scheduled to visit Switzerland from January 16-20, said another
official at the Foreign Ministry. Bangladesh will place its position before the
extraordinary meeting on overall situation apart from the latest development on
Rohingya issue. Meanwhile, the OIC Groups in Geneva and Brussels held emergency
meetings during the past several days to discuss the ongoing crisis facing the
Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.
The meetings sought to identify possible
actions that may be taken in the lead-up to the forthcoming extraordinary
meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, according to officials at the OIC
secretariat. The meeting in Geneva was chaired by Ambass-ador Tahmina Janjua,
Permanent Representative of Pakistan, in her capacity as OIC Geneva Group
Coordinator on Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, and in Brussels by
Ambassador Vladimir Norov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Belgium, in his capacity
as Chair of OIC Group, according to the OIC Headquarters. In both the meetings,
the Heads of OIC Permanent Missions in Geneva and Brussels briefed the meetings
on the OIC's latest efforts in responding to the Rohingya crisis. During the
course of discussions, members of the Groups exchanged their views on the
latest developments, expressed their concerns over the continued violence
against the Rohingya minority and expressed their unanimous apprehension at the
attitude of the Myanmar government towards the situation in Rakhine state. They
reiterated the call for the restoration of the rights of the Rohingya
community, including the fundamental rights to freely exercise their religion.
The Groups called for concrete actions to address the basic human rights and
humanitarian issues of this long suffering minority and called upon the
government to ensure that the displaced Rohingya population is allowed to
return to their homes in safety and dignity. The Geneva and Brussels meetings
proposed further engagement with the international community, including the
United Nations and the European Union in particular, in order to coordinate
further action alleviate the plight of the Rohingya people. Myanmar will,
however, send a special envoy soon to see and evaluate the situation of
Rohingya people. Myanmar State Counsellor and leader of the National League for
Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi will send the envoy. The special envoy will come
here once we finalise meeting with our Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina). It's
very difficult to get her appointment before her Switzerland visit, a diplomat
told UNB. Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka Myo Myint Than is in touch with Foreign
Ministry officials here to fix the visit and engagements in Dhaka. Dhaka says
around 50,000 people have fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh since October 9.
Earlier on December 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Myanmar
Ambassador in Dhaka Myo Myint Than and demanded early repatriation of all
Myanmar nationals staying in the country. Bangladesh also expressed its
readiness to engage with Myanmar to discuss process and modalities of
repatriation with Myanmar. The European Parliament (EP) has asked the
government of Myanmar to allow the UN and other outside observers to assist in
investigating recent events in Rakhine State's Maungdaw district. The EP also
urged the military and security forces to stop immediately the 'killings,
harassment and rapes' of the Rohingya people, and the burning of their homes.
It made the call in a resolution on the situation of the Rohingya minority in
Myanmar on December 15.