Dhaka, Jul 8 (UNI) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday rejected a recent proposal by a US congressman that Myanmar’s Rakhine state should be brought under Bangladesh territory calling it a flagitious proposition and asked him rather to mobilize campaign for safe return of over a million Rohingyas to their homeland.
This is a flagitious and unjustified proposal. It is never acceptable. We are happy with our 54,000 square mile or 1,47, 000 square kilometer territory, she told a press conference when asked for comments on Congressman
Bradley Sherman’s proposal during US congress’ hearing on State Department’s budget for South Asia last week.
Sheikh Hasina added that Bangladesh offered makeshift refuge to the ethnic minority Muslim Rohingyas in its territory on humanitarian grounds which does not mean, it wants to annex the Rakhine state.
The premier reminded Sherman, chairman of US Congress Sub-committee on Asia Pacific, of the civil war of his country in the past and said Bangladesh would not do anything which would affect regional stability and peace.
They may be a big country, but how a Congressman of the country forgot the past of their civil war and how they think that those days (civil war) will not come back again, she said.
Sheikh Hasina said, moreover, Rakhine appeared to be exposed to frequent unrest and “knowing and understanding that, why we will attach a troubled area to our territory, she questioned.
“We will never do it,” she said.
The premier said Bangladesh honored Myanmar’s sovereignty while Rakhine was part of its territory and what Dhaka wanted was the safe return of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine state.
Giving shelter to the Rohingyas does not mean that we will attach a part of the state. We’ve not such a mentality and we don’t want it. We want every state will remain with its sovereignty, she said.
She said instead of floating such proposals, the US congressmen should do something so Myanmar takes back their citizens from Bangladesh and that will be their humanitarian gesture.
UNI MAZ SHK2008