Religious extremists can't be sheltered as refugees
Says Syed Ashraf
Bangladesh cannot open its borders to religious extremists in the name of sheltering Rohingya refugees, said LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday.
The sectarian violence in Myanmar, centring the rape of a woman, might not have arisen if the law enforcement agencies there had taken appropriate measures, he said, adding that Bangladesh was cooperative towards all humanitarian issues.
“We cannot be friends of terrorists or rapists. So those who raped an innocent woman in Myanmar cannot be friends of Bangladesh,” he said.
Ashraful, also the Awami League (AL) general secretary, was addressing a special extended meeting of Dhaka City AL at Mohanagar Natya Mancha in the capital.
Alleging that Jamaat-e-Islami has been instigating the sectarian violence, he said, “They chose Myanmar as part of their plan to destabilise international politics to save the war criminals. Jamaat, like a multi-national company, carries out such activities in many places.”
About the recent unrest in the readymade garment sector, Ashraful claimed that no worker was behind the unrest.
Some brokers, created in the sector, were responsible for the unrest as they want to destroy the backbone of the country's economy by destabilising the highest earning sector, he said.
AL leaders Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Ahmed Hossain and Qamrul Islam spoke at the meeting, chaired by Dhaka city AL acting president MA Aziz.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments