World must find solution to Rohingya crisis: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the international community to think about a solution to the Rohingya crisis so the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals could return to their homeland and live a decent life.

The whole world should find a solution to the crisis enabling the return of the Myanmar nationals to their homeland to have a decent life, she said during a meeting with the visiting British cross-party parliamentary delegation on Sunday at Ganabhaban.

The premier also mentioned that the forcibly displaced Rohingyas are becoming a heavy burden for a small country like Bangladesh.

Also on Sunday, the UN's top official in Bangladesh said it is not a good time for Rohingya repatriation, while the Chinese envoy mentioned his country is working with Myanmar so that the Rohingya repatriation process can start very soon.

'Not a good time for Rohingya repatriation'

Gwyn Lewis, UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC), said the situation inside Myanmar is very difficult and it is not a good time for Rohingya repatriation.

Repatriation is a priority for Bangladesh, and Rohingyas as well as Bangladesh have agreed on their safe and dignified return to Myanmar, she said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on Sunday.

In the meeting, they discussed financing issues for the Rohingyas and security issues both inside Myanmar and Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar.

"We have a shortage of financing," she said.

'Working with Myanmar to start repatriation soon'

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen on Sunday said his country is working with Myanmar to have another ceasefire in Rakhine State, so that the Rohingya repatriation process can start very soon.

"Repatriation issue is something we discussed quite deeply. We understand, now we face difficult days. But we need to be confident," he told reporters after his meeting with Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud.

The ambassador recalled that they saw a ceasefire in the past under the mediation of China in Rakhine State.

He said they, under the joint initiative of Bangladesh, China and Myanmar, have already made remarkable progress in terms of repatriation of the Rohingyas.

Ambassador Yao said China will continue to play its role and hoped that Bangladesh and Myanmar will remain engaged to make arrangements so that the Rohingyas can return to Myanmar as soon as possible.

After meeting with Lewis and Wen, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud expressed his optimism over commencement of the Rohingya repatriation soon, hoping that the current situation in Myanmar may not remain the same.

"Situation in Myanmar has never been good. It always fluctuates – sometimes good, sometimes bad. Myanmar is going through such a situation," he told reporters after his meetings.