ANI |
Updated: Sep 25, 2024 01:07 IST
New York [US], September 25 (ANI): Chief Advisor to Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammd Yunus, will hold a ‘high-level’ meeting regarding the Rohingya situation in the country on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Advisor, Md Touhid Hossain, said on Tuesday.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA, Hossain said that the Chief Advisor will be addressing UNGA on September 27, prior to which he would be holding meetings and participating in various events.
“He (Mohammad Yunus) will give the speech on the 27 September here (UNGA). Before that, he is meeting people and participating in different functions. We are having a meeting on Rohingya. It will be a high-level section meeting on Rohingyas. He is trying to connect as many people as possible,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Advisor said.
The Rohingyas, a mostly Muslim minority in Myanmar, have long been the focus of prejudice and interethnic conflict, according to Al Jazeera. The military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, had notably forced the Rohingyas to flee.
After the crackdown by the Myanmar military, at least 7,50,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. This crackdown is also the focus of a ‘genocide’ case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
According to recent reports, thousands more Rohingyas had fled to Bangladesh in August from the Rakhine state in western Myanmar as combat between the military dictatorship and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group that recruits among the majority Buddhist population, has escalated, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Earlier, being asked on the situation of minorities in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh foreign advisor said the interim government is doing “everything possible” to protect all its citizens.
“Any violence that has taken place is being shown as violence against Hindus; this is not correct. I think Indian media needs to come out of this hyping up this issue. We are doing everything possible for the protection of our citizens, and Hindus in Bangladesh are our citizens, we are taking care of them,” he said.
Bangladesh witnessed Sheikh Hasina’s ouster amid students’ protests turned into a massive anti-government movement, followed by the establishment of an interim government.
During this turbulent period, several incidents of violence and chaos, particularly targeting minorities, including Hindus, have been reported from Bangladesh.
Being asked about several Bangladeshi nationalists demonstrating outside the hotel where the the country’s diplomats were staying, Hossain said, “That is just like Bengalis. We are never on one side. There are some who think that the earlier government was better.”
Earlier, as Bangladesh Govt’s Chief Advisor Muhammd Yunus arrived at the official hotel in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, protesters chanted “Go Back” slogans against him. Protestors raised slogans against the Yunus over the alleged attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Protesters chanted, “Go back, Step down, Step down, Step down” and held up posters that said, “Shiekh Hasina Our Prime Minister.”
Md Touhid Hossain also held a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly session in New York on Monday.
On his meeting with EAM Jaishankar, Hossain said, “All the aspects of bilateral relations were discussed.” Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also shared details regarding the meeting between two leaders.(ANI)