Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.) has called for the resettlement of more Rohingya refugees (displaced Myanmar citizens) in the US.
He made this call when the US Embassy in Dhaka’s Charge d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson came to meet the advisor in his office at the Bangladesh Secretariat on Tuesday (January 21, 2025) afternoon.
The advisor said that the US has been in a leadership role since the beginning in providing humanitarian assistance and resettlement to Rohingya refugees. They have already resettled a number of Rohingya refugees. I urge the US to resettle more Rohingya. In response, the Charge d’Affaires said that the US is the largest donor to the development and resettlement of Rohingya refugees. The US development agency, US-Aid, is working with local NGOs in Bangladesh to improve the quality of life of the Rohingya. The United States has already resettled about 17,000 Rohingyas in the United States and this is ongoing.
The meeting discussed various issues of mutual interest including security issues between the two countries, counter-terrorism, the Rohingya problem, mutual cooperation in capacity building of law enforcement agencies, the Police Reform Commission, the border situation, minority issues, and cooperation in the agricultural sector.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Advisor welcomed the Charge d’Affaires and said that the United States is one of the major partners in the development of Bangladesh. Every year, many students from Bangladesh go to the United States for higher education. The United States’ cooperation in the counter-terrorism and security sectors continues. Moreover, they have been assisting Bangladesh by providing advanced training and weapons to enhance the capacity of the police and other law enforcement agencies. He requested that the police be trained more on human rights issues and the BGB and Coast Guard on human trafficking issues.
Pledgeing continued US cooperation in the development of Bangladesh, the Charge d’Affaires said, “We are allowing 30 percent more students to study in the United States than before. We will provide more training to law enforcement officers.” However, it should be ensured that the officers return to the country after the training and work at their respective desks so that it is more fruitful. He said, there is maximum cooperation between our two countries on security and counter-terrorism issues. He emphasized on mutual exchange of information on counter-terrorism issues and updating the related database.
In response to the question of the Charge d’Affaires on the border situation, the advisor said, the border situation is fairly normal. A meeting is scheduled to be held at the level of BGB-BSF Director Generals between the two countries in Delhi, India next month.
In response to the question whether minorities are being persecuted, Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) said, no minority is being persecuted in Bangladesh. This is propaganda by the Indian media. We do not want to use the word minority. Everyone is a citizen of Bangladesh and everyone has equal rights. He said, the few isolated incidents that have occurred regarding minorities after August 5 are mainly due to political reasons, not religious reasons.
The meeting was attended by US Embassy Resident Legal Advisor Rahul Kale, Law Enforcement Attaché Michael W. Hintz, Political Military Affairs Officer Josh Pope, Assistant Regional Security Officer Stephen Kovacs, and senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
