‘Create Safe Zones in Myanmar for Rohingyas’: Bangladesh PM at UN

Haseena expressed shock at the laying of landmines by Myanmar security forces to prevent the return of Rohingyas.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is escorted to the podium to address the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September.

(Photo: AP)

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proposed creating UN-supervised safe zones inside Myanmar to protect Rohingya Muslims who are fleeing a military crackdown to seek refuge in her country.

“These people must be able to return to their homeland safely, and with security and dignity,” Hasina told the UN General Assembly on 21 September.

The United Nations says more than 4,20,000 Rohingya have fled for safety to Bangladesh in the face of army brutality, that includes rape and burning down the villages, in northern Rakhine state.

Hasina accused Myanmar authorities of laying landmines on the border to prevent the Rohingyas from returning, and said the United Nations must take immediate measures to find a solution to the crisis.

The Prime Minister laid out a five-point plan that called for the protection of Rohingyas in “safe zones that could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision." The United Nations has described the military operation as "ethnic cleansing" and French President Emmanuel Macron went further, describing it as a "genocide."

Myanmar must stop the violence and "the practice of ethnic cleansing", agree to allow a UN fact-finding mission, ensure the return of refugees, and abide by a report that recommends citizenship for the Rohingyas, said Hasina.