Bangladesh’s prime minister on Thursday proposed creating UN supervised safe zones in Myanmar to protect Rohingya Muslims who are fleeing a military crackdown to seek refuge in her country.
“These people must be able to return to their homeland in safety, security and dignity,” Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the UN General Assembly.
The UN has said more than 420,000 Rohingya have fled for safety to Bangladesh in the face of a Burmese army campaign in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State that includes rape and the burning of villages.
The military operation was sparked by attacks carried out by Rohingya militants on Burmese police posts on Aug. 25.
Hasina accused Burmese authorities of laying land mines on the border to prevent Rohingya from returning and said that the UN must take immediate measures to find a solution to the crisis.
The prime minister laid out a five-point plan that called for the protection of Rohingya in “safe zones that could be created inside Myanmar under UN supervision.”
The UN has described the military operation as “ethnic cleansing” and French President Emmanuel Macron went further, describing it as a “genocide.”
Myanmar must stop the violence and “the practice of ethnic cleansing,” agree to allow a UN investigation, ensure the return of refugees and abide by a report that recommends citizenship for the Rohingya, Hasina said.
There has been mounting international outrage over the plight of Rohingya, prompting the UN Security Council this month to call for an end to the violence.
The creation of such “safe areas” would require the approval of the Security Council, in which China, a strong supporter of Myanmar’s former junta, has veto power.
The 1.1 million-strong Rohingya people have suffered years of discrimination in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship even though many have long-standing roots in the country.
The recent exodus of Rohingya has brought the number of refugees from Rakhine living in Bangladesh to more than 800,000, Hasina said.
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