DHAKA, Bangladesh: The 45th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC (Organization of the Islamic Cooperation) began in Dhaka on Saturday with a focus on the Rohingya refugee crisis.
In the inaugural speech, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed urged the Muslim world to have a stronger voice in safeguarding the rights of the Rohingyas.
“When the Rohingya community of Myanmar is being subjected to ‘ethnic cleansing’ the OIC fraternity cannot overlook it,” Hasina said.
She urged OIC members to “stand solidly” beside the forcibly deported Rohingyas to protect their rights.
Right to life
Appealing to OIC leaders to put more international pressure on Myanmar to repatriate the refugees, Hasina said: “Rohingyas deserve the right to life, dignity and existence like us.”
Foreign ministers, state ministers and representatives from the 57 OIC member countries are participating in the two-day council to enhance “Islamic values for sustainable peace, solidarity and development,” the theme of this year’s council.
OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, Ivory Coast Foreign Minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh and Turkey Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Yildiz and Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmud Ali also delivered speeches.
Ali emphasized the need for reformation of the OIC as there were many non-OIC countries where a large number of Muslims were living.
“There is a need to build bridges with those non-OIC countries, so that a large number of Muslim populations do not remain untouched by the good work of OIC. That is why we need OIC reforms and restructuring,” Ali said.
To address the Rohingya crisis, the CFM delegation on Friday, while visiting Rohingya refugees, said that the OIC would strengthen its voice in the UN to put more pressure on Myanmar.
Shomser Mobin Chowdhury, former Bangladesh foreign secretary and ambassador, said: “It is very significant that now the OIC is promising to raise a strong voice against Myanmar. Ƶ, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh; all these countries when they raise their voices together will create a good impact.”
Shomsher says that as Myanmar is not an OIC member state, OIC countries needed to find a way to put Myanmar under pressure to resolve the Rohigya crisis. “Two important ASEAN members, Indonesia and Malaysia, can play a vital role in this regard because Myanmar is also an ASEAN state.”
“These two important major countries can accelerate the issue in the regional forum of ASEAN,” Shomsher said.
On the first day the heads of delegations made their statements in the first working session while a parallel meeting of the OIC special committee held another session discussing Palestinian issues and the challenges of the Muslim Ummah.
The delegates also engaged in a special session on the humanitarian challenges facing OIC countries.
This is the second time Dhaka has hosted the CFM since 1983. During the inaugural session the OIC secretary general presented a Gilaf of Holy Kaaba to the Bangladeshi prime minister.
