United States urges Bangladesh not to send back Myanmar refugees
Victoria Nuland
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
June 13, 2012
QUESTION: Just – can we get back on the issue of Burma?
MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.
QUESTION: As we discussed yesterday, there have been a number of calls by the United States for an end to the violence, but specifically on the issue of Bangladesh, there have been some concerns about whether Bangladesh is giving access to Rohingya fleeing Burma. Is there anything that the U.S. has to say about its communication with Bangladesh on the issue?
MS. NULAND: Thanks for that, Shaun. We are concerned that Bangladeshi authorities appear to have intercepted and turned back persons fleeing the ethnic and religious violence in Burma. So we have been urging the Government of Bangladesh to respect its international obligations under the relevant refugee conventions and to continue its longstanding policy of non-refoulement of refugees. So those are points that we are making. We are also continuing to make the point to all sides in Burma that it is important to settle these issues not through violence but through dialogue, and to put down their arms and start talking to each other.
QUESTION: What was the word you used? Its longstanding policy of non-refoulement?
MS. NULAND: Refoulement. R-e-f-o-u-l-e-m-e-n-t. That’s a good Scrabble word.
QUESTION: What’s the level of communication with the Bangladeshis? Has it been through the Embassy in Dhaka or --
MS. NULAND: Yes. And I believe that we’ve also had communication from this building as well.
QUESTION: Is – this issue has come up now upstairs with the Indian foreign minister as far as situation in Burma is concerned?
MS. NULAND: They did talk about Burma and they did talk about the ethnic issues and the Rohingya issues when the Secretary had her brief meeting with Foreign Minister Krishna before starting the broader Security Dialogue.
