Rohingya crisis: India backs Bangladesh’s stance, Sushma Swaraj reportedly tells Sheikh Hasina

Rohingya crisis: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File)

With the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar showing no sign of relenting, India is pushing the Buddhist-majority nation both bilaterally and multilaterally to take back Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled the country in the wake of recent ethnic violence, a top aide of Bangladesh Prime Minister quoted External Minister Sushma Swaraj as saying.

The latest flare-up of violence has prompted over 300,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, which already accommodates as many refugees in the country. On Thursday, Swaraj held a telephonic conversation with Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and assured her of India’s full support to Bangladesh’s stance over the Rohingya issue, Hasina’s Deputy Press Secretary Nazrul Islam was quoted as saying by the bdnews24.com.

“India’s position is the same as Bangladesh’s over the Rohingya issue,” Nazrul quoted Swaraj as telling Hasina. “She also spoke about India pushing Myanmar both bilaterally and multilaterally so that they take back their refugees. What India is saying is that Myanmar must stop atrocities against Rohingyas,” he added.

READ: Why no country wants Rohingya, why it’s so difficult to deport them

Stating that the Bangladesh government has designated land for makeshift shelters of the Rohingya people, Hasina, however, expressed it would pose a big problem for her country if the refugees stayed for long. Hasina further said she would raise the Rohingya issue at the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

Shah Porir Dwip: Rohingya Muslims, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, carry an elderly woman in a basket and walk towards a refugee camp in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. (AP/PTI)

ALSO READ: India rushes relief materials for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

On Thursday, India had sent 53 tonnes of relief materials to Bangladesh and vowed all assistance to Dhaka in tackling the ongoing crisis. Earlier, India’s High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla had said that India would provide 7,000 tonnes of relief materials to Bangladesh.

With PTI inputs