Rohingyas a 'Threat to Security': Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Dhaka, November 12, 2019:

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the global community to resolve the issue of 1.1 million Rohingya citizens of Myanmar and said that the Rohingyas are a “threat to the security” of the entire region.

Over 10 lakh Rohingyas fled from Myanmar to the neighbouring country Bangladesh as of May 24, 2018 (UN reports) in the wake of religious persecution. The exodus of refugees in large numbers has resulted in a major crisis in the country.

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The Bangladesh PM commented while addressing the three-day 'Dhaka Global Dialogue-2019'.

Sheikh Hasina urged the world community to take appropriate action, realizing the gravity of the threat. She added that a country’s development and prosperity cannot be ensured until and unless the country lacks peace and safety.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are refugees from Myanmar who have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar for decades. Hundreds of thousands have fled to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The majority have escaped to Bangladesh, where there are two officially registered refugee camps. Recently violence in Myanmar has escalated, so the number of refugees in Bangladesh has increased rapidly.

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According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 723,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017. On 28 September 2018, at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there are 1.1 million Rohingya refugees now in Bangladesh. Overcrowding from the recent population boom at Bangladesh's Rohingya refugee camps has placed a strain on its infrastructure.

The refugees lack access to services, education, food, clean water, and proper sanitation; they are also vulnerable to natural disasters and infectious disease transmission.

On 1 March 2019, Bangladesh announced that it would no longer accept Rohingya refugees.

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