Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh urges global pressure on Myanmar
Dhaka, Sep 11: Bangladesh on Tuesday urged the international community to put more pressure on Myanmar to provide a permanent solution to the Rohingya refugee crisis and ensure their safe return.
Over 700,000 members of the mostly-Muslim Rohingya minority fled sectarian violence in Rakhine state in western Myanmar in August 2017 following a Rohingya rebel attack on government outposts and a subsequent military crackdown.
"Our past experiences suggest that Myanmar does not fulfil its obligations unless pressurized by the international community," Bangladesh's deputy minister for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam said during the presentation of a report on Rohingyas by Oxfam in Dhaka, Efe news reported.
The report was titled "One Year on: Time to put Women and Girls at the Heart of the Rohingya Response".
"We believe the strong public opinion around the world that seeks accountability of the perpetrators would help Myanmar address the root causes of the Rohingya problem and take effective measures for ensuring basic needs of the Rohingyas when they return to their homes," he said.
International pressure led Myanmar and Bangladesh to sign a deal on November 23 to repatriate Rohingyas, according to which the return of the refugees should have started on January 23.
The formal repatriation process has yet to start nine months since the deal was inked.
"The Myanmar authorities must demonstrate a strong political will as well as visible actions to address the discrimination against the Rohingyas," Alam said.
The minister said that the international community needed to keep applying pressure on Myanmar in order to gain access to Rakhine state so that the needs of Rohingya women and girls can be adequately addressed once they return to their homes.
The authorities in Myanmar do not recognize the Rohingyas as citizens and denies them basic rights, considering them instead to be Bengali immigrants.
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Agra man arrested for harassing, touching inappropriately Czech tourist visiting Taj Mahal
Agra, Apr 6 (PTI): A man was arrested for allegedly harassing and touching inappropriately a tourist from the Czech Republic visiting the Taj Mahal, police said on Sunday.
The alleged incident occurred on April 3 and the arrest was made after a thorough investigation, they said.
In a written complaint at the Tourist police station, the woman alleged that she was "touched inappropriately and harassed" while walking along the Shamshan Ghat Road around 1 pm, they added.
The police registered a case and began a probe, deploying multiple teams to nab the accused.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Taj Security) Syed Areeb Ahmed said, "A case was registered on the complaint of the foreign woman. Several teams were deployed to search for the accused. (Footage from) several CCTV cameras covering the area was scanned. After investigation, the accused Karan Rathore was arrested on Sunday."
The woman has identified Rathore as the accused and he has been taken into custody, the officer said.
