Swiss President in Cox's Bazar to meet Rohingyas

Swiss President Alain Berset, now on a four-day official tour, arrived in Cox's Bazar on Tuesday morning to see Rohingya situation on the ground as Switzerland provides humanitarian aid for them.

President Berset left Dhaka for Cox's Bazar by a Swiss Federal Council Jet and reached here at 10:30am, an official told UNB. 

He will visit the Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar and will listen to the stories of horrific tortures faced by Rohingya people in Myanmar.

Swiss president said Switzerland pledged eight million Swiss francs [equivalent to $8 million] at a conference in Geneva in October for emergency humanitarian aid for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

On Monday, he announced that this year Switzerland will provide an additional 12 million francs [equivalent to $12 million] for the Rohingya refugees.

He said the agreement on repatriation between Bangladesh and Myanmar was a positive step towards a solution to the current crisis.   

“It'll be important that all returns are voluntary and safe, and carried out with dignity," said the Swiss president.

He will leave for Dhaka at 3:15pm and meet civil society representatives in the capital.

The Swiss Embassy in Dhaka said the visit is focused on solidarity with a country that is severely affected by the crisis in neighbouring Myanmar and the establishment of closer bilateral relations.

Given the extent of humanitarian crisis (Rohingya), Switzerland earlier decided to increase its financial contribution to CHF 8 million.

Switzerland also called upon the government of Myanmar to fully respect its obligations under international law, particularly to prevent all the human rights violations and abuses, and ensure that the perpetrators of such violations are brought to justice, thus creating the conditions essential for the refugees' return.

Source: unb