Boris Johnson calls for end to Rohingya crisis

DHAKA: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called for politicians in Bangladesh and Myanmar to work together to solve the Rohingya refugee crisis before he departed on a visit to both countries. “This is a man-made tragedy that could be resolved with the right political will, tolerance and cooperation from all those involved,” Johnson said in a Friday statement. The British top diplomat arrived in Dhaka on Friday afternoon, where he is expected to stay for a two-day visit. Johnson travelled to refugee camps in the south-eastern Bangladeshi district of Cox’s Bazar on Saturday to see some of the Rohingya who fled atrocities in neighbouring Myanmar, according to Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British government.

Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed into Bangladesh since the Myanmar army launched a violent crackdown on the minority ethnic group in the troubled state of Rakhine on August 25. Johnson will hold talks with Myanmar State Councillor Aung San SuuKyi on the Rohingya crisis when he flies to Myanmar after wrapping up the Bangladesh visit. “The plight of the Rohingya and the suffering they have had to endure is one of the most shocking humanitarian disasters of our time,” said the British foreign secretary in his statement.

In a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Johnson stressed the need for quick repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, said Ihsanul Karim, a spokesman for the Bangladeshi prime minister’s office. Johnson also held a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali on Friday. His visit to Bangladesh is the first by a British foreign secretary in 10 years. — dpa