Jamaat proposes independent Arakan State for Rohingyas during meeting with Chinese Communist Party
“China can play the biggest role here because China has a great relationship with Burma,” said Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Md Taher
The creation of an independent Arakan State in the Rohingya-majority region was proposed by the Jamaat-e-Islami today (27 April) during a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party at a city hotel.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Syed Abdullah Md Taher said, "1.2 million Rohingyas are now here in Bangladesh. They are living a very inhumane life. We said that providing food and shelter is not a solution."
He said the solution was to settle them in "their own land", proposing a new independent Arakan State.
"China can play the biggest role here because China has a great relationship with Burma," he said.
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Taher also said regional security was discussed.
"This was so that no one in this region has a hostile attitude towards another."
Saying it was a party-to-party meeting, Taher emphasised it as an opportunity for Jamaat to increase relations with the CCP.
He also said they had called for investment for the construction of the Teesta Barrage, a second Padma Bridge and a deep sea port.
"We have said the blue economy should be promoted through deep sea ports. We have also requested to provide scholarships to students from Bangladesh on a large scale."
On elections and reforms, Taher said the Chinese representatives wanted to know when and how the elections could be held and whether the party supported the timeline set by the chief adviser.
"Chinese representatives said Beijing does not interfere in the internal affairs of any other country. The same policy will apply to Bangladesh."
The CCP delegation was led by Peng Jiubin of the Southeast and South Asian Affairs Bureau of the International Department of the Central Committee of the CCP.
The Jamaat delegation included assistant secretary generals Rafiqul Islam Khan and Ehsanul Mahbub Zobayer, Secretary of the Publicity Department Matiur Rahman Akand, and Executive Council members Muhammad Selim Uddin and Nurul Islam Bulbul.
