5-point proposal could help resolve Rohingya crisis: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the Rohingya crisis could be resolved in line with the five-point proposal she had placed in last month’s UN General Assembly session in New York.

“We don’t want war ... we believe all problems could be solved through discussion,” she said while receiving donations to her Relief and Welfare Fund.

Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) handed over the donations to the Prime Minister at her office.

After the function, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters.

The five-point proposal that the prime minister made at the 72nd UNGA session on Sept 21:

First: Myanmar must unconditionally stop the violence and the practice of ethnic cleansing in the Rakhine State immediately and forever.

Second: Secretary General of the United Nations should immediately send a Fact-Finding Mission to Myanmar.

Third: All civilians irrespective of religion and ethnicity must be protected in Myanmar. For that “safe zones” could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision.

Fourth: Ensure sustainable return of all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar.

Fifth: The recommendations of Kofi Annan Commission Report must be immediately implemented unconditionally and in its entirety.

The prime minister said Bangladesh has been carrying the burden of four lakh Rohingyas for decades as they were victims of ethnic persecution in their homeland Myanmar.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has given shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds.

“It is a responsibility of every human being to stand beside the distressed humanity ... it would be inhumane if we don’t stand beside the Rohingyas at the time of their distress,” she added.

Source: BSS