Yunus: Giving Corridor to Rakhine State a Complete Lie

Arakan Now - 7 June 2025

'This is the work of those who are constantly misleading the people of Bangladesh by creating untrue stories and unrest'

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday said that propaganda is being spread claiming Bangladesh has provided a corridor for Rakhine state, which is a complete lie.

“We have noticed that propaganda is being spread that Bangladesh has provided a corridor for Rakhine. I am saying clearly, this is a complete lie. This is the work of those who are constantly misleading the people of Bangladesh by creating untrue stories and unrest,” he said in a televised address to the nation on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha.

Yunus urged the nation to be cautious about the propaganda and not to be misled in any way.

“Despite this propaganda, we will not deviate from our goal. We will continue our work to solve this complex problem,” he added.

The chief adviser said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, during his visit to Dhaka in March last year, proposed a relief channel to address the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State.

“The UN Secretary-General said this proposal would be helpful in the repatriation of the Rohingya. The matter remained at the proposal stage,” he explained.

Yunus said that 1.2 million Rohingyas are now living in Bangladesh, as about 100,000 Rohingyas arrived between September 2023 and September 2024, during widespread fighting in Rakhine State, while many are still trying to come due to the ongoing conflict and humanitarian situation there.

“We have taken initiatives to stop the influx of Rohingya to Bangladesh and to repatriate those who are already here,” he said.

“When we took office, we found the Rohingya issue almost forgotten. The issue had fallen off the international agenda. From that situation, we were able to bring the issue to the forefront of the world’s attention,” said the chief adviser.

Yunus mentioned that he called for an international conference on the Rohingya during the UN General Assembly in September last year.

All UN member states agreed to this and decided to organize a high-level international conference, which will be held in New York, USA, in September this year, he added.

“At the same time, we have been able to build international public opinion in favor of the repatriation of the Rohingya. During his visit to Bangladesh last March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres clearly declared that repatriation to Myanmar is the only solution to the Rohingya problem,” he said.

Another major development on the repatriation issue is the announcement by the Myanmar government of the first-ever list of Rohingyas eligible for repatriation, he noted.

During discussions on the sidelines of the Bimstec summit in Bangkok last April, the Myanmar government announced for the first time that 180,000 Rohingyas are eligible for repatriation, he added.

“Formal and informal contacts are being maintained with the Myanmar government and insurgent groups there to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingyas and the security of our borders. We have discussed the Rohingya crisis with state leaders and government representatives in all the countries we have visited and sought their cooperation. They have also responded positively to our call,” Yunus said.