Bangladeshi PM asks Hun Sen for help in dealing with Rohingya crisis

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday appealed to the Cambodian government to “support” her country in handling the refugee crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of Rohingya pour over its border fleeing violence and persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.

Prime Minister Hun Sen told reporters he had discussed the crisis with his counterpart during bilateral talks. “We also discussed the issue of the refugees, which is a very hard burden on Bangladesh,” he said.

“We provide consideration altogether about the repatriation of the refugees and hope that Bangladesh and Myanmar will work together smoothly for the safer return of the refugees back to Myanmar,” he said.

Hasina, meanwhile, maintained that the displacement of the Rohingya posed a threat to peace and stability for the whole region.

“I request Prime Minister Hun Sen for his support of a durable solution of the crisis,” she said, adding that bilateral negotiations with Myanmar were ongoing.

“Bangladesh continues to shelter more than 1 million Rohingya, among them are almost 700,000 Rohinya [who] fled atrocities in Myanmar [and] took shelter in Bangladesh recently,” she said, adding that bilateral negotiations with Myanmar were ongoing.

The mass exodus began after Rohingya separatists attacked police posts and an army base at the end of August, prompting severe reprisals by security forces targeting civilians and razing entire villages. Observers have characterised Myanmar’s campaign against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing.