Russian, Bangladesh foreign ministers meet in Moscow

By Elena Teslova</p> <p>MOSCOW (AA) – The question of the oppressed Rohingya people must be solved between Myanmar and Bangladesh via dialogue, Russia’s foreign minister said on Monday.</p> <p>The international community has to provide support to the two states to find a mutually appropriate solution, Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in the capital Moscow after meeting his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen.</p> <p>&quot;I don't see any other decision, except bilateral, except a decision based on dialogue, on mutual understanding, as it must be between two neighbors,&quot; Lavrov said.</p> <p>There is no progress on the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar — which they fled to escape persecution — but Bangladeshi officials have gathered refugees’ biometric data and now have more precise data on them, said Momen.</p> <p>This information will help resolve the Rohingya issue, he said.</p> <p> <p>- Persecuted people</p> <p>The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.</p> <p>According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.</p> <p>Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).</p> <p>More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the report, titled &quot;Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience.&quot;</p> <p>Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.</p> <p>The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings – including of infants and young children – and brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces.</p> <p>In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity and genocidal intent.</p> <p> </p> <p>