Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has called on Bangladesh to open its doors to Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
Speaking at a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Eid al-Adha celebration event in the Mediterranean province of Antalya on Friday, Çavuşoğlu reiterated Turkey’s call to Bangladesh to open its doors to Rohingya people, and said that Turkey would pay all the expenses.
“We have also mobilized the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We will hold a summit regarding the Rakhine state this year. We need to find a decisive and permanent solution to this problem,” the minister added.
He said that no other Muslim country other than Turkey is showing sensitivity towards the massacres happening in Myanmar.
In terms of humanitarian aid in the world, Turkey ranks 2nd after the United States with $6 billion and $6.3 billion respectively, Çavuşoğlu added.
Çavuşoğlu’s comments and offer comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is holding numerous phone calls with Muslim leaders all over the world to call for intensified efforts to solve the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Erdoğan has so far spoken with the heads of states of 13 countries on the occasion of Eid al-Adha and to convey his concerns about the situation in Rakhine.
Çavuşoğlu also reportedly spoke on the phone with former U.N. Secretary General and head of Advisory Commission on Rakhine State Kofi Annan.
Violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on Aug. 25 when the country’s security forces launched an operation against the Rohingya Muslim community. It triggered a fresh influx of refugees towards neighboring Bangladesh, though the country sealed off its border to refugees.
Media reports said Myanmar security forces used disproportionate force, displacing thousands of Rohingya villagers and destroying their homes with mortars and machine guns.
The region has seen simmering tension between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012.
A security crackdown launched last October in Maungdaw, where Rohingya make up the majority, led to a U.N. report on human rights violations by security forces that indicated crimes against humanity.
The U.N. documented mass gang-rape, killings — including infants and young children — brutal beatings, and disappearances. Rohingya representatives have said approximately 400 people have been slain during the crackdown.
