Relationship with the US now stronger than ever

Bangladesh’s relationship with the US is now stronger than it ever was in the past, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said yesterday.

He also said the US president wrote a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina immediately after the election. Now, Donald Lu is coming to Bangladesh to take this relationship to greater heights.

The foreign minister said this while replying to a journalist’s query before a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the foreign ministry at the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar yesterday afternoon.

Regarding national politics, Hasan, also the Awami League Joint Secretary, said the BNP has started relying on invisible forces after the parliamentary elections. “They are now leaning towards amulets and prayers.”

On the issue of Rohingya repatriation, Hasan said, “The Myanmar government is using the recent conflict in Rakhine State as an excuse to delay the repatriation of Rohingyas. The conflict in Myanmar has been an ongoing issue for the last 80 years and the country was never free from conflict. It cannot be an excuse not to take back Rohingyas.”

“Because of the Rohingya refugees, we are facing various problems. The militant and extremist groups are recruiting members from Rohingya camps,” he said.

The conflict in Myanmar doesn’t have an impact on the 33 shelters in Ukhiya-Teknaf as those are far from the border, he added.

Amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar, 138 Myanmar troops including a lieutenant colonel and two majors of Myanmar Army have taken refuge in Bangladesh, said the foreign minister, adding that they would be sent back the same way Myanmar security members were repatriated earlier.

In the morning, a six-member delegation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by its chairman Dr AK Abdul Momen visited the Rohingya camp of Cox’s Bazar.

The delegation visited the e-voucher centre of World Food Programme (WFP) at Camp 4, a learning centre, and met with Rohingya community leaders at Camp 5.

Later the team visited the Ghumdhum transit camp, which is being constructed to repatriate Rohingyas to Myanmar.

During the visit, former foreign minister Abdul Momen said, “We came here to witness the ground reality in person, as the situation is becoming more complex day by day. The purpose of the visit is to find a way out of the crisis.”

“We talked with the Rohingyas and they are willing to go back to their country,” he added.

After the visit, the parliamentary committee will submit recommendations to the government in this regard, he added.

The delegation includes Nurul Islam Nahid, Nahim Razzaq, Shaimum Sarwar Kamal, Habibur Rahman, and Zara Jabeen Mahbub.

Refugee, Relief, and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Dr Mizanur Rahman along with other officials of the foreign ministry were also present during the visit.