Dr. Momen seeks OIC support to resolve Rohingya crisis

DHAKA, May 30, 2019 (BSS)-Foreign Minister Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen today
sought support of the OIC member states in resolving the crisis of forcibly
displaced Rohingya community of Myanmar sheltered in Bangladesh.

He particularly urged to address the issues of Rohingya repatriation from
Bangladesh and for ensuring accountability and justice for gross human rights violations and crimes against them in Myanmar.

The foreign minister made the urge while leading a Bangladesh delegation to the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) preparatory to 14th Islamic Summit of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) at Jeddah Conference Palace in Saudi Arabia, a press release said here.

Momen appreciated the Gambia led initiative of taking legal recourse to
establish Rohingya rights and address their justice question at the
International Court of Justice against Myanmar.

Rohingya issue got prominence in the ministerial meeting as the member
states agreed on a draft final communiqu, which covered the Rohingya crisis among other issues.

The drafts were finalized by the senior officials’ meeting on May 27 in
which the Bangladesh delegation was led by Director General Ambassador A F M Gousal Azam Sarker.

During his intervention at the ministerial level meeting today, Momen
highlighted the need for solidarity and unity among the member states of OIC.

The foreign minister emphasized that the Muslim nations should be able to
resolve their own issues within OIC and proposed a new platform for the Ulema to work together to counter extremism and terrorism.

He stressed cooperation in diversified fields while underscoring the
urgency for addressing the major challenges of the Muslim Ummah like conflict situation and tension in many OIC countries, terrorism, Islamophobia, humanitarian issues and underdevelopment.

On the sidelines, the foreign minister attended the AdHoc Ministerial
Committee Meeting dealing with the Banjul process of accountability and
justice for Rohingya.

Besides, the foreign minister held meeting with his counterparts from
Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Maldives.

The issue of Rohingya featured prominently during the discussions and all
the foreign ministers of four countries put emphasis on the repatriation of
the forcefully displace community to Myanmar and accountability of the
perpetrators.

Momen also called for greater economic integration and trade facilitation
among the countries.

He also discussed South East Asian Cooperation Forum for economic
integration in the region which is expected to be launched in Dhaka in June
2019.