DHAKA, 16 August 2021, (TON): Speakers at a discussion urged the international community to play a stronger role in assisting Bangladesh diplomatically to put pressure on Myanmar to take Rohingyas back.

They said “Bangladesh government has done as much as possible from its side to protect Rohingyas by sheltering them when they fled Rakhine in face of persecution, and now repatriation is the only solution for this crisis.”

Academicians, diplomats, government officials, researchers and security experts joined the webinar "Humanitarian Norms, National Security and the Rohingya Policy of Bangladesh", organised recently by Central Foundation for International and Strategic Studies (CFISS).

Dr ASM Ali Ashraf, professor at Dhaka University's Department of International Relations, suggested that the best course of action to deal with this crisis is repatriation.

The humanitarian aspect played a primary role during the initial period of the exodus, but now it is time to focus on Bangladesh's internal security, he said.

He pointed out "The mass influx has changed the scenario of Cox's Bazar through deforestation, tension between Rohingyas and locals, arms and drugs trafficking among Rohingya groups, and the threat of rising extremism among them, which cannot be eliminated."

Ashraf said, "The Bangladesh government has done the best that was possible for these persecuted people, but now it is the responsibility of the international community to come forward and guide, through proper diplomatic channels, to arrange repatriation."