Ahammad Foyez |
20:04, Apr 27,2019
Denies govt pressure on BNP MPs-elect to join parliament
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at a press conference at Ganabhaban on Friday. -- BSS photo
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Friday criticised international aid and voluntary organisations for opposing government move to relocate Rohingyas to Bhasan Char island form Cox’s Bazar camps.
‘Those who are coming here to provide aid to Rohingyas seems to be concerned about their own comforts also and they are protesting at the move to relocate Rohingyas to a well-developed island,’ she told a press conference at her official residence Ganabhaban.
The press conference was arranged to brief the media on her visit to Brunei in April 21-23.
Replying to a query, the prime minister denied that the government put pressure on lawmakers-elect of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party to take oath and join parliament or it had a policy of splitting any political party.
On Rohingya issue, she said that the government devolved Bhashan Char to relocate Rohingyas there offering them a better life than that in Cox’s Bazar camps.
‘Some aid organisations are opposing the move as tourist district Cox’s Bazar is a nice place to for them to stay and its communication for them is easier than Bhashan Char,’ she said.
Rohingyas are living in Cox’s Bazar with poor facilities while Bhashan Char was developed with modern facilities of which the United Nations was already informed, she added.
Bhasan Char is a one-hour boat ride from Sandwip, the nearest inhabited island, and two hours from Hatiya, one of Bangladesh’s largest islands Bhashan Char can accommodate 10 lakh people and cyclone shelters have been constructed there, Hasina said, adding that Bangladesh people might be accommodated there if Rohingya relocation was foiled.
‘We are taking all possible steps to ensure shelters for Rohingyas, but who will take the responsibility if any disaster accident like cyclone take place in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, the prime minister asked.
She also said that Bhashan Char island would also be an exclusive tourism site.
‘We gave shelter to Rohingyas as they were tortured brutally in their country Myanmar. At the same time we talked to Myanmar and signed an agreement for repatriation of Rohingyas to their own country,’ he added.
She said that a list of Rohingyas was made and the UNHCR also approved it for repatriation, Rohingyas started protests against repatriation.
‘Had the repatriation begun, it could have continued,’ the prime minister said.
Mentioning that about 40,000 babies were born in Rohingya camps, she warned that Rohingyas might be engaged in extremism by extremist outfits..
Replying to another query, she said that the government talked with Japan, China, Russia and India about Rohingya repatriation and the countries also wanted repatriation though they did not take stance against Myanmar.
‘The countries have agreed to build houses for Rohingyas if they return to their home. We have also talked to all the neighbouring countries of Myanmar for taking a joint initiative as they are also facing such refugee problems,’ she added.
The minister said that she advised the organisations, who are interested to do something for Rohingyas in Bangladesh, to give aid to Rohingyas in Myanmar.
‘Some people are very interested to assist Rohingyas though they are not interested enough in repatriation of Rohingyas to their land,’ she said, adding that giving aid to Rohingays in Cox’s Bazar was easy and the voluntary organisations are trying to cash goodwill through the process easily.
The Rohingya people are now also engaging in internal clashes often as they have no work. ‘It is easy to hire them for militant activities and other crimes,’ she added.
About 740,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh fleeing military crackdown in northern Rakhine State of Myanmar since August 2017, taking to about 1.14 million the number of Rohingya population in Cox’z Bazar.
Responding to a question, Sheikh Hasina, also the ruling Awami League president, denied that the government was putting pressure on BNP lawmakers-elect to take oath as members of parliament, saying that she did not believe in splitting any party for the sake of political diversity.
‘Splitting any party is not my policy as each party has its unique policies and characteristics as well as liberty,’ she added.
She said that the of BNP lawmakers-elect were taking oath in the face of pressures from their own voters, not the government.
She claimed that Bangladesh had a multi-party democracy and each of the party acted in line with their policy while the people made their choice according to their preference.
Asked about the rumour of BNP’s jailed chairperson Khaleda Zia’s parole, the prime minister said that her government so far received no petition in this regard as petition was a must for parole.
Replying to another question, she said that the government was alert to foil any attempt of extremist attack and the social awareness was a must in this regard.
She said that there was no way of refusing the possibility of extremist attack as the extremism was a global crisis.
On the murder of Feni madrassah student Nusrat Jahan Rafi, the prime minister said that the government would spare none who had involvement in it, no matter which party he or she belonged to.
Responding another question, Hasina said that the government would take necessary move to enact a law on service of mass media employees.
At the outset of her written speech, the prime minister expressed deep shock at the tragic death of party leader Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim’s grandson Zayan Chowdhury in the terror attack in Sri Lanka.
She said that just upon her arrival at the Brunei International Airport on April 21, she came to know about the attack and immediately conveyed her messages of condolence to the Sri Lankan prime minister.
Sheikh Hasina once again denounced the ‘cowardly attack’ and called upon all to create a louder global opinion and undertake effective measures against terrorism.
The prime minister said that during her Brunei visit, six bilateral memoranda of understanding were inked following her meeting with the Brunei Sultan.
The memoranda are on scientific and technical cooperation on agriculture, cooperation in the field of fisheries, cooperation in the field of livestock, culture and arts and LNG supplies.
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