Hasina seeks support from Cambodia to resolve Rohingya crisis

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, arrived at Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia, for a three-day official visit that began on December 3. Hasina met her Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen, and called for the country’s support for a solution to the Rohingya crisis which “threatens peace and stability of our region.” In addition, according to the PM’s Additional Press Secretary M Nazrul Islam said that the two leaders discussed way to improve regional connectivity and signed nine MoUs.

Hasina’s efforts to rally support in the region comes after Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a repatriation agreement for the return of Rohingya Muslims to the Rakhine State. The pact builds on an already set formula, which was inked in 1992 when several thousands of Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh. According to the terms of the repatriation agreement, the Rohingyas will require a proof of residency in Myanmar: they will have to produce identity proof issues by Myanmar. What is causing troubles for Bangladeshi government is that it is Myanmar who gets the last word in any dispute.

More than 600,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh. Children make up 54 per cent of the total population. A recent survey of more than 170,000 families or 740,000 individuals found that 5,677, or 3.3 per cent, of the households, are headed by children; more than 4,800 households, or 2.8 per cent, include separated and unaccompanied children; and as many as 14 per cent of families are composed of single mothers holding their families together with little support in harsh camp conditions.