Clarifying Dhaka’s position, Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said Bangladesh sees Rohingyas as ‘displaced people’ not as ‘refugees’ while the World Bank (WB) announced a global progrmme to integrate refuges in host countries.
“Rohingyas are not refugees here … they are persecuted and displaced people …they are taking shelter here on a temporary basis,” he told reporters in the capital on Monday.
The foreign minister said Dhaka sticks firm on its stand that the persecuted forcibly displaced Rohingyas must return to their land of origin in Myanmar’s Rakhine. “Rohingya repatriation is our priority,” he said.
He said there is no chance of integration of Rohingyas into Bangladesh rather Dhaka believes their ‘better future’ would only be possible when they are repatriated to Myanmar. Recently, the WB has taken a Tk 20 billion-programme for 16 countries hosting refugees while it adopted a programme as part of its Refugee Policy Review Framework.
