Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh made a call to urge the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to make an effort to support the Rohingya’s while she was at a meeting with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden who is also UNDP Goodwill Ambassador. The Swedish Crown Princess is currently on a 4-day visit in Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said there should be made an effort to increase the international fund than what is currently available for the support of the Rohingya people, who are seeking shelter in Bangladesh. Furthermore, she emphasized how Bangladesh has given shelter to the the Rohingyas from Myanmar and have arranged housing for them in Bhashanchar.
On 4 March 2024 ambassadors from Denmark, Sweden, the European Union and eleven more countries have reaffirmed their support for the Rohingyas refugees and host communities in Bangladesh. The messages were delivered to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The ambassadors wrote in their message, that the deteriorating conditions in Myanmar will create more challenges for the Rohingyas and might delay the repatriation of the ethnic group to Myanmar.
The Rohingyas are a predominantly muslim ethnic group, who mostly live in Rakhine State in Myanmar. They have faced violence and discrimination for decades and more than a million have fled to Bangladesh, where there are now two official refugee camps. Some have also fled to other Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. A violent crackdown on the Rohingyas in 2017 was led by the Burmese military in 2017 and nationalist buddhists and forced many of the Rohingyas to flee. Since the civil war in Myanmar begun in 2021 and fighting in the Rakhine State escalated once again, many more have fled.
Sources: daily-sun.com & dailyobserver
