President seeks CICA support to repatriate Rohingyas

President M Abdul Hamid today solicited support and cooperation from Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)  partners to repatriate the forcibly displaced Rohingya people to their ancestral homeland in Myanmar with safety and dignity.

"Bangladesh hosts 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals . . . We seek a peaceful solution to the crisis and also signed instruments on their repatriation with Myanmar. (But) if it left unresolved, the crisis could destabilize the entire region," he said.

The president was addressing the fifth summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at the Navruz Palace in Tajik capital of Dushanbe.

The head of the state highlighted Bangladesh's position on Rohingya crisis, saying Bangladesh opened its door for Rohingya people, the worst victims of genocide and gross violation of human rights, which has been termed as a 'text book example of ethnic cleansing' and 'humanitarian catastrophe of unmanageable magnitude'.

Rohingya people were forcibly displaced from their ancestral homes, President Hamid said adding that Bangladesh government extended the hand of cooperation to them on humanitarian ground after they (Rohingyas) sought shelter in the neighboring country.

Putting stress on working together in different issues in this region, the president said "We are facing a number of serious issues like violent extremism, international terrorism and forced migration which go beyond borders. So we need to coordinate our response to tackle those issues."

The security in Asia is gradually becoming vulnerable as irregular migration, drug trafficking, territorial claims, ethnic conflicts, separatism, economic problems and climate change are visible here, he mentioned.

The president said CICA, a multi-national forum established for enhancing cooperation to promote peace, security and stability in Asia, needs to enhance its capacity and collective efforts through promoting the concept of indivisible security to address these crucial challenges.

He called upon CICA member states to work together so that existing discords in the region should not impede resolving the issues related to security and cooperation in Asia.

"Stability and security in Asia is imperative for economic development … We can achieve that through dialogue and cooperation," Hamid said.

Referring to Bangladesh's foreign policy on the principle of 'Friendship to all, malice to none', adopted by the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he assured that Bangladesh would continue to uphold the noble principles and objectives of CICA.

In line with that principle, the president said, dynamic and visionary leader Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina maintains relations with all external countries emphasizing on peace, stability and development.

"CICA is very relevant to us in this regard," Hamid added.