Bangladesh urged to aid Rohingya refugees | By Mizan Rahman Dhaka

The United States has urged Bangladesh to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas who have already taken refuge in Bangladesh from the neighbouring Rakhine state of Myanmar.

“Basic essential services — food, sanitation and healthcare —should be provided to the Rohingyas,” US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena told a press conference at American Centre in Dhaka yesterday afternoon.

Referring to his visits to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar, he said there are 28,900 documented Rohingyas in the refugee camps, but many more undocumented Rohingyas are currently living there.

Mozena also asked the Bangladesh government to keep the country’s border open to Rohingyas so that they can take shelter here and voluntarily and safely return home.

He said the prime minister of Bangladesh has recently visited Myanmar and the two governments have started a process to deal with Rohingya issue.

Speaking at the press conference, US deputy assistant secretary for Bureau of Population, Refugee, and Migration Kelly Clements, who recently visited the Rakhine state where sectarian riot broke out, said she visited the riot-hit areas of Myanmar and met the temporally displaced people — both Rohingyas and Rakhine.

“I also met the community leaders…but the situation is grim. Huge numbers of people (both Rohingyas and Rakhine) were displaced. Displacement also continues in Maungdaw,” she said.

Kelly stressed the need for more humanitarian assistance. “For a sustainable solution, more humanitarian assistance is needed to develop the Rakhine state.”

The US official asked for better understanding among ethic communities to avert sectarian violence in Myanmar.
US deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, Daniel Baer who recently visited the Rakhine state with a US delegation, spoke at the press conference. Source here