India Pushing Myanmar To Take Back Rohingya Refugees: Report

India is pushing Myanmar both bilaterally and multilaterally to take back Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled the Buddhist-majority nation following the ethnic violence, a top aide of Bangladesh Prime Minister quoted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj as saying.

More than 300,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh since the latest flare-up in violence on 25 August, adding to around 300,000 refugees already living in Bangladesh, close to the border with Myanmar.

Swaraj, in a phone call, yesterday (14 September) spoke to Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina and assured her of India’s full support to Bangladesh’s stance over the Rohingya issue, Hasina’s Deputy Press Secretary Nazrul Islam was quoted as saying by the bdnews24.com.

“India’s position is the same as Bangladesh’s over the Rohingya issue,” Nazrul quoted Swaraj as telling Hasina. “She also spoke about India pushing Myanmar both bilaterally and multilaterally so that they take back their refugees. What India is saying is that Myanmar must stop atrocities against Rohingyas,” he added.

Hasina said the government has designated land for makeshift shelters of the Rohingya people, but if they stayed here for long, it would pose a big problem for Bangladesh. Hasina also said she would raise the Rohingya issue at the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month.

India, yesterday, rushed 53 tonnes of relief materials to Bangladesh and pledged all help to Dhaka in tackling the humanitarian crisis. India’s High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India will provide 7,000 tonnes of relief materials to Bangladesh.

With inputs from PTI