Myanmar must take back Rohingyas in Bangladesh: India

Dhaka Oct 22 (IANS) India on Sunday said Rohingya refugees who have poured into Bangladesh must be taken back by Myanmar from where they have been displaced.

"Normalcy will only be restored with the return of the displaced persons to Rakhine state " Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a media meet also attended by her Bangladeshi counterpart Abula Hassan Mahmood Ali.

This followed the fourth India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Committee meeting here.

Sushma Swaraj did not use the word Rohingya to refer to the thousands who have taken shelter in Bangladesh and instead referred to them as displaced persons from Rakhine state bdnews24.com reported.

She said India was "deeply concerned at the spate of violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar".

According to latest figures from the UN office in Bangladesh over 600 000 refugees have entered the country since August 25 after the Myanmar Army cracked down on the Rohingyas after a series of attacks on security personnel in Rakhine.

Bangladesh Minister Ali said India was urged to contribute towards exerting sustained pressure on Myanmar to find a peaceful solution to the crisis including return of Rohingyas to their homeland.

--IANS
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