DHAKA, Dec 26, 2019 (BSS) – Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming today called on Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen as Beijing appeared as a mediator in Dhaka-Naypyidaw engagements over repatriation of Rohingyas, diplomats familiar with the meeting said.
“(The Chinese) Ambassador went to meet (Bangladesh’s) honourable foreign minister for further discussions on early repatriation of the displaced people (Rohingyas),” Deputy Head of Mission of Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Yan Hualong told BSS as approached comments regarding the meeting.
He briefly added that during the meeting they discussed issues related to an “early date of return” of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine province.
A foreign ministry spokesman earlier acknowledged Momen’s meeting with the envoy at the ministry without any elaboration.
The Chinese deputy head of mission said the ambassador earlier today also met with Red Crescent Society of Bangladesh (BDRCS) Chairman Hafiz Ahmed Mazumdar, MP, and discussed about humanitarian cooperation between Bangladesh and China as well as early return of Rohingyas to their homeland.
China emerged as a mediator on Rohingya issue in September this year when Bangladesh and Myanmar foreign ministers held a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations general Assembly (UNGA).
Chinese foreign minister mediated the talks which decided to form a Joint Working Mechanism among the three countries to delve into the technical issues of repatriation.
The tripartite meeting also decided that 3,450 Rohingyas who were by now verified by Bangladesh and Myanmar, the Hindu Rohingyas and those living along the “zero-line” would be the prioritized groups for early repatriation.
Bangladesh foreign ministry officials said in line with the decision the Chinese envoy, Myanmar Ambassador to Bangladesh and a senior official of the ministry kept in touch with each other to explore ways for early repatriation of the Rohingyas.
The Chinese envoy in Dhaka earlier said his country shared Bangladesh’s concerns over the Rohingya crisis and plays a “unique role” in finding sustainable solution to the crisis.
Bangladesh currently extends makeshift refuge over 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar while most of them arrived since Myanmar launched a military crackdown on August 25, 2017, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and dubbed as “genocide” by other rights groups.
In last two years, no Rohingya returned as Myanmar visibly failed to build trust among them about their safety on their return home.