Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken an initiative to take 15 non-resident diplomats to Cox’s Bazar to see for themselves the plight of Rohingya people.
The move has been chalked out as Dhaka continues to exert pressure on Myanmar to take back its nationals using diplomatic tools.
High commissioners or ambassadors belonging to the countries include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Mauritius, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Kenya who look after Bangladesh affairs, but have no mission in Dhaka.
The diplomats are based in New Delhi and currently attending Victory Day celebrations in Bangladesh’s capital city.
High commissioner-designate of Nigeria and chargé d'affaires of Czech Republic, Austria, and Ghana are also on tour.
According to their itinerary, the non-resident diplomats will visit Kutupalong makeshift camp on Sunday.
“Every year we invite non-resident diplomats in the Victory day and Independence Day celebrations, but this year we have invited them to visit Cox’s Bazar also,” a senior official at the foreign ministry told bdnews24 on Saturday.
“This is part of our effort to continue pressure on Myanmar,” the official who cannot be quoted said.
The foreign ministry earlier took all Dhaka-based head of missions to Cox’s Bazar as Myanmar denied international community access to Rakhine State after the ‘ethnic cleansing’ began on Aug 25.
Nearly 1 million Rohingyas are now living in Bangladesh after the fresh influx since the beginning of the latest crackdown.
Bangladesh has urged the UN Security Council to keep the Rohingya issue “alive” until a "logical conclusion" is reached over the crisis.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also made five-point proposals to the UN to resolve the decades-old crisis.
She continues to urge the international community to put pressure on Myanmar to take back their nationals from Bangladesh.
Bangladesh also signed a deal with Myanmar for their repatriation, but international community insisted the return in safe and voluntary manner.
After the camp visit in Cox's Bazar, the diplomats are expected to meet the prime minister in Dhaka in the evening.
They will return to New Delhi Monday.
