The delegation, including Bangladesh Army Chief Gen. SM
Shafiuddin Ahmed and US Army Pacific Region Chief Gen. Charles A Flynn, talked
to Rohingya leaders during the visit.
Rohingya refugees expressed their desire to go back to their
home country of Myanmar’s Rakhine State and not to any third country.
“We want to get back our citizenship rights first and then
return to our homeland if our safety is guaranteed,” Syed Ullah, a Rohingya
Majhee (camp-based Rohingya leader), told journalists after talks with the army
officers.
Later, speaking to Anadolu Agency over the phone, Syed Ullah
added that shifting the Rohingya to any third country was not the real
solution.
“For our survival as a nation, the only solution is sustainable
repatriation with rights, dignity and safety,” he said, adding that they want
to see their next generation being educated and brought up in their own
country.
Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.2 million Rohingya,
most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in their home country in August
2017.
The army officers are visiting Bangladesh to attend the 46th
annual Indo-Pacific Army Management Seminar (IPAMS).
Earlier, in a statement, the US Embassy in Dhaka noted that the
gathering is the largest conference for land forces (army, marines, etc.) in
the region.
“The objective of IPAMS is to promote peace and stability in the
Indo-Pacific region through mutual understanding, dialogue, and friendship,”
said the statement.
It underlined that the program would give senior-level officers
a forum to exchange views and ideas and to develop and strengthen their
relationships.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Prospects and
Challenges in Maintaining Peace and Security in the Indo-Pacific.”
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