DHAKA, Bangladesh: A 20-member delegation of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) expressed solidarity with the Rohingya refugees when it visited them in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, telling them that they are not alone.
Nine members of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) also joined the delegation.
“We express our solidarity with you, also show our determination that you are not alone,” M. Jouhamed Khouraichi Niass, the OIC Parliamentary Union (PUIC) secretary-general, told the Rohingya after visiting their camps.
The delegation started the day-long visit by speaking to several refugee men and women at Ghumdhum for an hour. Later, they visited a UNHCR-run transit center in Kutupalang camp, in the Ukhia sub-district.
The delegation also witnessed a women-friendly center and a child-friendly center in Kutupalang camp, run by the UN Population Fund and the UN children’s fund UNICEF respectively. In all the places, the Rohigya shared the horrible experiences and atrocities they had faced at the hands of the army in their homeland Myanmar which forced them to take refuge in Bangladesh.
The PUIC delegation expressed their firm determination to help in the repatriation process of the Rohingya.
“We will discuss using whole channels, diplomatic channels and bilateral channels to help our brothers go back to their native Myanmar. This is what which brought us here today,” said Khouraichi Niass, the chief of the delegation.
“All the countries sent us here studying your issue. We will use all means, legal means, to get your rights. This is why we are here today with a big delegation from the PUIC.”
Niass expressed his strong hope that “Allah will help to succeed with a peaceful solution” for the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner of Bangladesh, Abul Kalam, told Arab News that in this visit the PUIC delegation had received a clear picture about what is going on and what the refugees have experienced back in Myanmar. “Now the PUIC will strengthen its bilateral efforts to solve the refugee crisis since Myanmar has very good relations with some of the OIC members and the delegation has assured us in this regard.”
After this visit, OIC will be able to play a “more effective role” in various diplomatic channels, said Kalam, who was part of the visiting delegation.
