UK envoy 'horrified' by stories of Rohingyas

British High Commissioner in Dhaka Alison Blake was horrified and moved by the stories she heard from the Rohingyas who fled Myanmar in the face of persecution.

“They described terrible violence and crimes like those recorded in the recent report from the UN OHCHR,” she said after her visit to the Rohingya refugee camp and makeshift settlements at Kutupalong of Cox's Bazar on February 8-9.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The UK envoy met people who suffered terribly and bore physical and psychological scars.

Canadian High Commissioner Benoît-Pierre Laramée and Australian High Commissioner Julia Niblett also visited with Blake, a trip organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and World Food Program (WFP). 

Meanwhile, a press release of the British High Commission yesterday said some newspapers misquoted Blake when she talked to the press during her visit to the Kutupalong Rohingya camp.

“But judgments about whether this amounted to genocide or ethnic cleansing are not ones that the high commissioner could or did make. Nevertheless she has no personal doubt that what they described would be beyond the bounds of acceptable security operations,” according to the clarification of the High Commission.

The envoy thanked the Bangladesh government and international and local relief agencies, including IOM, WFP, UNHCR, Unicef, for their work to deliver immediate humanitarian support.

She said she was proud that UK Aid supported this work. “But the scale of the need is enormous and the UK will be looking at what more can be done, including ensuring that all the allegations are investigated so that those responsible for the violence are held to account.”

According to Blake, the Rohingyas wanted to go home and they would not be able to do that until they could do so in safety and security and with their identity fully recognised.

“They called on us and their friends in the international community to deliver a lasting political solution that would restore their full human rights and dignity and give them hope for a brighter future,” she added.