Arakan News Agency
Bangladesh called on members of the Commonwealth parliaments to step up pressure on Myanmar to stop the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority and return them to their homes in Arakan province.
This came during a speech by Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Sheikha Hasina Wajid at the opening of the 63rd Conference of the Commonwealth Parliaments (comprising 54 former British colonies), currently held in Dhaka.
“I ask everyone to talk about the Rohingya crisis more critically,” Hasina said.
It called for “intensified pressure on the Myanmar government to stop its persecution of its citizens and to return them quickly.” (In reference to the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh).
“Persecuting and forcibly expelling the Rohingya from their homeland has created instability in the region,” she said.
Since Aug. 25, Myanmar army, police and Buddhist militias have launched a military campaign against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan province, west of the country.
The military campaign launched by Myanmar and extremist Buddhist militias has killed thousands of Rohingyas, according to identical local and international sources, reports and reports.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently announced that the total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps reached 820,000.
The Myanmar government regards the Rohingya Muslims as “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh, while the United Nations classifies them as the “most oppressed minority in the world.”
