Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday urged the United Nations to help Bangladesh relocate Rohingyas to Bhashan Char island.
She made the plea while UN resident coordinator Gwyn Lewis called on her at her official residence, Ganabhaban.
PM’s speech writer M Nazrul Islam told reporters that the prime minister mentioned that over one million Myanmar nationals, Rohingyas, are now a big burden for Bangladesh.
“Their return to their homeland is uncertain, so I am requesting the UN to help Bangladesh relocate the Rohingyas in Bhashanchar,” she said.
In this connection, she mentioned that the island has been organised and developed to provide better living conditions for the Myanmar nationals.
She said that it has a cyclone shelter, employment opportunities in limited scale and education facilities for the children in their mother language.
Sheikh Hasina said that the Rohingyas who are living in camps in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar have already outnumbered the local people.
“They have created problems for the living and livelihoods of the local Bangladesh people,” she said.
She also said that some of the Rohingyas are involved in various anti-social activities like human and drug trafficking, internal conflicts and militant activities.
“In this situation, as their scope to return to their homeland is uncertain, their living standard will be upgraded if they relocate on Bhashanchar island where they will get better environment to live,” she said.
Bangladesh has so far moved about 30,000 Rohingyas to Bhasanchar to ease crowding in the camps in Cox's Bazar.
The Rohingyas, the minority Muslims in Myanmar, fled to neighbouring Bangladesh mostly in 2017 to escape killings, arson and rape unleashed by the country's military junta.
Diplomatic efforts at safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland have so far failed.
