Rohingya crisis could emerge as threat to regional security: Bangladesh envoy

Bangladesh on Thursday cautioned that the Rohingya crisis could emerge as a threat to peace and security in the region and pressed for its early resolution by repatriating the refugees to their home country.

Addressing a conference on 'Tackling Insurgent Ideologies', Syed Muazzem Ali, Bangladesh's High Commissioner to India, hoped for an immediate and effective implementation of the agreement signed between Myanmar and the United Nations to resolve the crisis.

The envoy asserted that the Bangladeshi soil will not be allowed for anti-India activities.

Ali said three bilateral agreements have been signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar for repatriation of the Rohingya refugees but that has not worked.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. Their latest exodus began in August 2017, when violence broke out in Myanmar's Rakhine state, driving more than 7,23,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh.

Currently, there are 1.1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. India has some 40,000 Rohingya refugees scattered across the country.

India too has been emphasising on the "safe, speedy and sustainable" return of the displaced Rohingyas.

Ali said the Rohingya people could become an easy target for radicalisation.

"Permanently disposed people have the potential to impact regional security in ways we have not yet imagined. It is in that context, their safe return is important, not only on the humanitarian ground but also on security ground. If it is not solved at the soonest, this could be a serious destabiliser in our whole region," Ali said.

He said the mass exodus of more than one million Rohingyas is a serious threat in terms of peace and security, especially in the region.

"So sooner they are settled in their home, the better it is. Otherwise the stateless Rohingyas in their desperation could emerge as a major threat to peace and security in our region and beyond," he added.

Ali said the crisis originated in Myanmar and solution has to be found there.

"As a responsible government, we have opened the borders to displaced Rohingyas and by doing so, we have stabilised the entire region by containing the crisis within our borders," Ali said.