Bangladesh seeks to bring the Rohingya predicament into the focus of the ASEAN forum.
The temporary Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, is establishing a political framework for the return of numerous Rohingya refugees to their native land in Myanmar. Yunus mentioned he brought up this matter with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during his trip to Dhaka, asking for the topic to be brought up at the Southeast Asian nations' bloc ASEAN's upcoming agenda. Anwar agreed, with Malaysia set to assume the ASEAN presidency in the coming year. Although Bangladesh is not a part of this bloc, Myanmar is.
Over 1 million Rohingya Muslims have been residing in Bangladeshi refugee camps for a considerable duration. A significant number of these refugees, over 700,000, fled Myanmar in August 2017 due to the military viciously cracking down on their entire ethnic group following attacks by an insurgent group. Since then, a military regime has been governing Myanmar, constantly at odds with several rebel factions. So far, there has been no resolution regarding the Rohingya's return. However, Yunus emphasized the need for an immediate solution.
Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Bangladesh marked the first time a Malaysian high-ranking official had traveled there in eleven years. Yunus took power after long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country in August as a consequence of widespread protests.
Yunus discussed the urgent need to include the Rohingya refugee issue on the ASEAN agenda, as he belief it was crucial for the restoration of Rohingya Muslims to their homeland in Myanmar, as mentioned in his conversation with Anwar Ibrahim. Following Anwar's agreement, Malaysia, as the upcoming ASEAN presidency holder, is expected to address this matter in the upcoming agenda.
