Refugee Crisis: AL sending team to seek China's help

In the wake of a fresh violence in Myanmar's Rakhine State and the influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, the ruling Awami League will seek help from China to resolve the crisis.

A 20-member high-level AL delegation will fly to China on September 19 and put Bangladesh's case prominently before the leaders of Communist Party of China (CPC). It will try to convince them to use their influence on Myanmar to stop the atrocities on Rohingyas and bring the country to negotiations.

The AL delegation, led by its presidium member Faruk Khan, will be visiting China at the invitation of the CPC. Though it is a regular visit, it will be an important one as the Rohingya crisis will come up for discussion. The team will meet influential CPC leaders and Chinese ministers, said two AL leaders.

"We will surely raise the current the Rohingya crisis for discussion. We will strongly place the issue before the Chinese party leaders," said Faruk Khan.

The delegation will try to convince CPC leaders to stand by Bangladesh at this critical moment, he added. "We hope the China government will cooperate with Bangladesh."

He noted that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take part in the 72nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), which officially began yesterday. During her visit to the USA, she will raise the Rohingya issue before world leaders and seek their cooperation to resolve the crisis.

Talking to The Daily Star, AL Joint General Secretary Dipu Moni said they would raise all bilateral issues at the meeting with CPC leaders.

"We are doing groundwork on the Rohingya issue and the foreign ministry has all the documents in this regard. We will produce those before the communist party leaders to make them aware of the current situation," she said.

Former foreign minister Dipu Moni expressed optimism that China would extend cooperation to Bangladesh to resolve the crisis.

"We know China has close ties with Myanmar. It also has good relations with Bangladesh. We hope the country will play an effective role in ending the Rohingya crisis on humanitarian grounds," she said.

The AL leader, also the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the foreign ministry, said the Rohingya refugee crisis has been a long-standing problem for Bangladesh and it has taken an alarming turn in the last two weeks.