Bangladesh has briefed the Russian side about the Rohingya crisis and cleared misconceptions developed due to 'false propaganda' by the Myanmar government. Head of Bangladesh Delegation and Jatiya Sangsad Deputy Speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah and Chief Whip ASM Feroze held a meeting with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russian Upper House Senator Konstantin Kosachev and Deputy Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of State Duma Andrei Klimov on the sidelines of the 137th assembly of IPU in St Petersburg yesterday and discussed the matter in details.
At the meeting, the Bangladesh delegation cleared two misconceptions of the Russian side on the root cause of the crisis; one was whether the Rohingya people illegally crossed border from Bangladesh to Myanmar to stay in Rakhine for better livelihood and whether the said conflict resurfaces due to religious rivalry, said the Foreign Ministry yesterday, reports UNB.
The Chief Whip described the history of the creation of allegiance of Rohingya people to the land of Rakhine state since Mughal Empire. He chronicled the development of multi-ethnicity since the British Empire expanded to Burmese land in 1828. The Deputy Speaker invited Kosachev along with a government delegation to visit Bangladesh to see the situation practically which would further clear their misconceptions developed due to false propaganda by the Myanmar government.
Rabbi recalled with deep gratitude the tremendous support that was extended by the people and Government of Russia (then USSR) during Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971. He appreciated the supreme sacrifice made by some of the Russian servicemen while clearing mines in the port of Chittagong, as part of the post-war reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Bangladesh.
He also mentioned that Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) stands as a signature initiative in the foray of bilateral relationship between the two countries. Terming the Russian Federation as a long-term reliable partner, the Deputy Speaker urged Russian side to stand beside Bangladesh for overcoming the acute crisis of influx of Muslim people from Rakhine State.
He briefly portrayed the plights of Rohingya people and the kindness of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for providing the shelter. Kosachev, in reply, appreciated Bangladesh leadership for supporting the distressed people.He congratulated Bangladesh delegation for becoming successful in the pursuit of passing the agenda of "ending the grave human crisis, persecution and violent attacks on Rohingya" as the sole emergency item of the 137th Assembly of IPU.
-AA News Desk
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