WEB DESK
Bangladesh has expressed happiness over the UN resolution on Rohingyas adopted at the 75th General Assembly on Thursday. Commenting on the resolution on Sunday, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. A K Abdul Momen said that Dhaka sees it as a diplomatic success.
The resolution was passed with 132 countries voting in favour of it and 9 countries including Russia and China opposing it. 26 countries including India and Japan abstained from voting on the resolution.
Dr. Momen said that Dhaka has no displeasure against the countries which abstained from voting on the UN resolution as it was their ‘strategic decision’, reports the official news agency BSS. He said that the countries which remained neutral on the resolution did it to use their leverage on Myanmar to find a solution to the issue.
Dr. Momen said that the Rohingya issue remains a big challenge for Bangladesh. He expressed the hope that Myanmar will keep its word to create a situation for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingyas to Rakhine province.
Bangladesh and Myanmar had signed a repatriation deal in November 2017 followed by a physical agreement in January 2018 to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to the Rakhine province. However, there has been no success in the repatriation of Rohingyas despite two failed attempts in the past.
Currently, more than a million Rohingya are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing the military crackdown in the Rakhine province of Myanmar in August 2017.