Want killing nowhere, says FM Momen on Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah murder

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday said they do not want a single killing anywhere mentioning that Rohingya leader Mohib Ullah’s killing is regrettable.

“We do not want any such incident anywhere. We have taken action instantly,” he told reporters at his ministry.

Dr Momen referred to the arrest of suspects and mentioned that the Ministry of Home Affairs is looking into it. 

Responding to a question, the foreign minister said Mohib Ullah did engage in a “legitimate movement” for the return of Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine State that some people might not like. 

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Mohib Ullah, 46, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar on September 29.

The foreign minister said the government will continue to work for the protection of Rohingyas while focusing on their speedy repatriation.

File photo: Mohib Ullah, a teacher turned rights activist, was one of the most high-profile advocates for the Rohingyas <strong>Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune</strong>

The government has taken tightened measures along the border with Myanmar as there are reports of illegal arms and drugs smuggling, including human trafficking. 

“We will not sit idle; we will take stern action," he added.

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Dr Momen also mentioned that many had said the Rohingya issue would be sidelined in the UN General Assembly due to the crisis in Afghanistan but the Rohingya issue came up prominently this time, too.

Earlier, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo has said it is a “shared responsibility” of the international community to make sure that the Rohingya crisis is not a forgotten one as the world faces more crises.

“Making sure that the Rohingya crisis doesn’t become a forgotten crisis is a shared responsibility. Obviously, the government of Bangladesh through its foreign policy is doing a lot to make sure that the crisis is not forgotten,” the UN official told the diplomatic correspondents recently.

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Bangladesh had handed over a list of 840,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification but the verification process by the Myanmar side was very slow, Dhaka says.

Repatriation attempts failed twice in November 2018 and August 2019 amid the Rohingyas' lack of trust in the Myanmar government.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation deal on November 23, 2017. 

On January 16, 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on ‘Physical Arrangement’, which was supposed to facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland.