Prolonged stay of Rohingyas in Bangladesh is security threat to the region: FM

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen has alerted the international community about possible disruption of peace and security in the region due to prolonged stay of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh.

"As the crisis lingers, the desperation of these forcibly displaced people increases jeopardizing the peace and security of the region," he said as the two-day World Peace Conference ended on Sunday evening.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the conference Momen said Bangladesh’s strong commitment to peace and humanity encouraged it to stand for the persecuted Myanmar nationals.

Like many other countries, he said, Bangladesh could have turned its back and remained insensitive.

"Such indifference, however, is alien to our psyche," said the foreign minister.

Quoting Martin Luther King, he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

"Let’s lit up the power of love in every heart and create a mindset of tolerance; let the message of peace which this conference has generated help construct a defence of peace in every mind," said Momen.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina addressed the closing ceremony as the chief guest.

In Dhaka Peace Declaration, the participants said they remain sensitised to the growing security, displacement and ecological challenges posed by climate change and commit to enhanced climate action for a peaceful and sustainable future of planet.

"We must join forces to keep our oceans and high seas, outer space and Polar Regions free from armed conflicts and contestations," the Peace Declaration read.

The participants said they need to make the various components and manifestations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution employed at the service of our shared well-being.

"We must invest in health security and make quality and affordable treatments and vaccines available for all. We envision a world where the existing global inequities no longer persist and where peace and non-violence prevail as inalienable rights," they said.

The global participants said they cannot lose sight of the fact that absence of peace anywhere in the world implies absence of peace everywhere.

"We must repose our faith and confidence in the spirit of multi-lateralism. We wish to see the comity of nations made fit for purpose for our evolving global realities," according to the Dhaka Peace Declaration.