By Farzana Tamannur (TON Bangladesh)

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina repeated her call for the global help to ensure dignified and peaceful repatriation of over 1.1 million Rohingyas, as she addressed the IX Moscow Conference on International Security.

She said, ‘You are attentive that Bangladesh has been hosting more than 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals-Rohingyas for about four years. They are posing huge security threat to Bangladesh in addition to the region. We have sheltered them on humanitarian ground but such a huge population cannot be lodged for indefinite period,’

The prime minster show gratitude the government of Russian Federation for hosting this event and expected that this conference would permit all to deal with the most convincing and urgent global and local security issues.

Sheikh Hasina also put importance on confirming vaccination to all to fight Covid-19, stopping financing and supply of arms to terrorists, humanitarian assistance to the marginalized people, safe return of all Rohingyas to Myanmar, and increasing cooperation among military agencies to ensure global security.

In this connection, she said, ‘I appreciate the recent ceasefire between Israel and Palestine. I hope peace and stability will prevail in the Middle East as well as in other parts of the world.’

Stating that conflicts among states give rise to intrastate security problems, she said that the concept of security now includes, along with military threats, the socio-economic and political needs of individuals, mass involuntary migration, environmental security and other non-traditional security threats.

Even, new challenges and concerns of international security arise because of terrorism, separatism, weapons of mass destruction, extremism, cyber crimes, regional conflicts and ecological catastrophes, she said, referring to Bangladesh’s zero tolerance policy toward extremism and terrorism.

Mentioning that the COVID pandemic is one of the most pressing international issues of the present time, the prime minster said that it has not only taken a heavy toll on lives, but also worn out the economies and affected the livelihood of millions of people across the world.

Sheikh Hasina said that her government had shown flexibility in fighting the pandemic by confirming available healthcare support for all and providing suitable incentives to different sectors.

The prime minister uttered her firm belief that this forum would stress on finding out efficient solutions to the problems to reinforce international security.

She added that Bangladesh had been maintaining its guiding principle of the foreign policy ‘friendship to all, malevolence towards none’ as postulated by Sheikh Mujib.

The prime minister said being a democratic and peace-loving country, Bangladesh trusts in resolving all local and international disputes throughout peaceful means as it knows the pains of losing near and dear ones as it lost 3 million lives in the country’s liberation war in 1971.

Since December 2020, Bangladesh has been rearranging Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar to a remote island called Bhashan Char. Since then, some 20,000 Rohingyas have been repositioned to the island so far. These are the part of 100,000 Rohingyas that the government of Bangladesh plans to reposition in its move to decongest the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. While the Bangladesh government has been determined on the rearrangement plan, which started in 2015, others have been skeptical of the move concerning safety and concerns over forcible rearrangement and violation of global human rights obligations. International agencies including the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, along with Refugees International, have called for a stop to the relocation procedure saying the island, which came out from the sea 20 years ago and has never been populated, is flood-prone and susceptible to cyclones. 

On May 31, thousands of frustrated Rohingya refugees staged demonstration against the living situation in the island camp during a visit by U.N. officials. A section of protester allegedly became “disorderly” and conflicted with police; some refugees were injured. While the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) issued a statement raising worries over the event, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said that global media and civil society organizations were campaigning against Bhasan Char and Rohingya rearrangement with “unclear information misrepresenting the facts.” Amid such situation, the Rohingya find them caught between the perpetual limbo of the refugee camps as well as an insecure homeland in Myanmar.

At a time while repatriation is still a distant dream for most Rohingya refugees, their extended and indefinite stay continues to pose a challenge to Bangladesh’s inner stability. The world community must distinguish Bangladesh’s concern and make intensive efforts to address the challenges contiguous the complex state.