US praises Bangladesh for sheltering Rohingya

The United States has praised Bangladesh for continuing to provide refuge to hundreds of thousands of Myanmar's forcibly displaced Rohingya people as the crisis enters its eighth year.

In a statement on Sunday, the US State Department voiced its support "for the people of Burma, including Rohingya and other ethnic groups who have been subjected to violence and displacement”.

"We commend the Government of Bangladesh for continuing to provide shelter to displaced Rohingya, as well as to other countries in the region for hosting refugees from Burma,” it added.

The message coincided with the opening of a three-day stakeholder conference on the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is expected to attend on Monday, the anniversary of the Rohingya’s mass exodus from Myanmar in 2017. The government said proposals from the meeting will be presented at a UN conference in September, reports bdnews24.com.

The exodus began on Aug 25, 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched a sweeping crackdown in the Rakhine state. Within months, more than 750,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh, joining about 400,000 already living in camps.

The UN later described the campaign as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, while the US government has described the persecution of the Muslim minority group as genocide.

Today, the Rohingya live in overcrowded bamboo and plastic shelters across Cox’s Bazar, with Kutupalong camp now the world’s largest refugee settlement.

Despite Myanmar’s agreement in late 2017 to take the refugees back, two repatriation attempts in 2019 collapsed after Rohingya refused to return, citing fears for their safety.

The Covid-19 pandemic and Myanmar’s 2021 military coup further sidelined the issue.

Dhaka has repeatedly said repatriation remains its top priority and has called on the international community to apply pressure on Myanmar to make that possible.