UN Council chief calls for action on Rohingya refugees
United Nations, May 4: Ambassador Joanna Wronecka of Poland, UN Security Council president for May, has said that the world body must act when Rohingya refugees are suffering.
She made the remarks on Thursday here after visiting Myanmar Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh earlier this week, Xinhua news agency reported.
"So, when you see the people suffering we have to act," she told reporters at the UN headquarters during a monthly briefing on the council's program of work. "The main question is how to help."
Wronecka said the Security Council would meet on May 14 for a formal briefing on the situation.
She said it was possible the panel "may adopt a PRST" (it carries the weight of international law), since "we are united, definitely committed to doing something..."
"It is difficult to live in the camps," she said. "The conditions are extremely difficult because in Bangladesh due to the monsoon season there is always a risk for raining,..."
The Monsoon has already started and have caused flooding in some areas, threatening the spread of disease and impeding the distribution of humanitarian aid.
"I had the chance to speak especially to women because they are the most affected with the children...," said a visibly moved Wronecka.
"But the refugees cannot stay forever. It was obvious. So the question is how to help them return to their place of origin."
The Warsaw envoy said members of the panel of 15 then met with Myanmar State Counsellor Aung Sang Su Kyi.
Bangladesh and Myanmar had signed an agreement on the return of refugees.
However, the UN has been saying refugees should only return voluntarily when they are ready to go where they want to go in a dignified manner.
"We see a possibility more for the role of different UN agencies to help."
She particularly singled out the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
More than 670,000 ethnic Muslim Rohingya have fled northern Rakhine State since August 25, 2017.
A PRST is a step below a resolution, which is read out by the president in a formal Security Council meeting and becomes an official document of the world organisation.
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
