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Bangladesh disagrees with pressure from Saudi Arabia to issue Bangladeshi passports to at least 54,000 Rohingya living in the country.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has hinted as to why Bangladesh would issue passports to those who do not have any documents.
Several other sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka have confirmed that there is a hidden threat that Bangladeshi migrants working in Saudi Arabia will be adversely affected if their passports are not issued.
However, the Saudi government’s statement in this regard was not immediately known.
The question of whether or not to issue Bangladeshi passports to the Rohingya could have a negative impact on the two countries, a question that has also emerged recently.
At the same time, there are ongoing discussions about whether the issue will pose a threat to at least 2.2 million Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia.
What is discussed on the subject of the passport?
A new ambassador has joined the Bangladeshi embassy in Saudi Arabia a few days ago. In their first meeting with him, the Saudi authorities proposed to issue Bangladeshi passports to Rohingya there.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said: “Saudi Arabia has said that they do not keep stateless persons in their country. The 54,000 Rohingya in their country do not have passports. They have said that many Rohingya have come here from Bangladesh, so if they issue their passports “.
He added: “We have said that if you have ever had a Bangladeshi passport before or if you can show any proof, we will definitely issue your passport. Otherwise, how do we do it?” Then they said: “The issuance of the passport does not mean that we have them in your country. I will deport you. They said that since stateless persons are not kept in Saudi Arabia, I am asking for a passport.”
“Why should we give passports to those who don’t have any Bangladeshi documents? We told them to talk to Myanmar about it. So negotiations are underway.”
Foreign Minister Momen said Saudi Arabia had voluntarily sheltered 54,000 Rohingya in his country.
“In 1986, when the Rohingya were being persecuted in Myanmar, the then King of Saudi Arabia announced that he would give asylum to the Rohingya. Many Rohingya go to Saudi Arabia. They have been in that country for 30 or 40 years. Their sons and daughters were born there. But they don’t have a passport.
Momen said: “Earlier, 472 Rohingya imprisoned in Saudi Arabia were asked to be taken to Bangladesh. Officials at the Bangladeshi embassy there verified that 60 or 70 of those detained thought they had Bangladeshi passports. We know nothing about the rest. They had passports, we brought them with travel documents. But the ones we didn’t, why should we bring them? “This is the question he asks.
Touhid Hossain, a former foreign secretary, believes that if the Rohingya in Saudi Arabia receive passports from Bangladesh, they will have the opportunity to use them as weapons in Myanmar.
“Myanmar will then be able to say that the Rohingya are Bangladeshis. As a result, it would not be correct to issue passports as proposed by Saudi Arabia. There are also hints in the statement of the foreign minister,” he said.
Why is the problem now?
Golam Masih was the Bangladeshi Ambassador to Saudi Arabia for more than five years. He returned to the country after the new ambassador joined there.
Masih said: “At different times when the question of deportation of illegal people comes up, they don’t say Rohingya. They say that he brought his passport from Bangladesh, so we don’t have a system to verify it. It’s an ongoing problem.”
At the same time, he said, “The issue that the Rohingya are talking about lately will not be serious.”
But former Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain sees the matter differently.
He says that Saudi Arabia’s economy is not as strong as it used to be. Now that could be a factor in the Saudi authorities’ stance on the Rohingya.
“In the current context of the economy, their job opportunities may be greatly reduced. They see this as an opportunity to reduce some foreign workers under such pressure.”
22 lakhs of Bangladeshis in Saudi Arabia
There is a fear that if the Bangladeshi passport is not issued to 54,000 Rohingya, it will have a negative impact on some 22 lakhs of Bangladeshis working in Saudi Arabia.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen says: “There are enough mischievous people to provoke. Due to the good relations between the Saudi authorities and the prime minister, we now have the largest number of workers, around 2.2 million. But other countries that are our rivals are very dissatisfied. ” “They also have people, so they are trying different things.”
Former Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain says that Saudi Arabia has raised the Rohingya issue twice before, but that they are not Bangladeshi citizens, that was Bangladesh’s position. But it had no effect on the job market.
Former Ambassador Masih believes that the Rohingya problem will not have a negative impact on Bangladeshi workers there.
However, many analysts say that when it comes to the 2.2 million worker issue, they have doubts that Bangladesh can hold its own in the face of Saudi pressure.
A high-level meeting between the two countries on the situation could soon be held, the officials said.
Relations between the two countries
The Foreign Minister said that relations between Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh are better now than at any other time.
Ghulam Masih’s statement is similar.
But now many former diplomats are skeptical that Saudi Arabia is raising the Rohingya issue.
Hussein said: “It is very sad that they are being pressured at the moment, because Saudi Arabia claims to be the leader of the Muslim world. There they see a crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar over the Rohingya problem. At that time, they issued passports to 54,000 Rohingya. “. Talking. “
At the same time, he said, Bangladesh showed no lack or lack of support on any issue from Saudi Arabia. He said there was no reason for the tensions between the two countries.
Source: BBC
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