Why Bangladesh is depending on international community, UN for repatriation of Rohingyas

A senior Bangladesh minister stated that the entire process of repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar depends on the international community and the UN.

Dhaka, Dec 26: A few days ago, Bangladesh and Myanmar made a joint statement that the governments of both the countries are a commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January 2018.

However, on Monday a senior minister in the Sheikh Hasina cabinet stated that the entire process of repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar depends on the international community and the United Nations (UN).

During a programme in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on Monday, the country's health minister Mohammed Nasim said Rohingyas will return to their homeland as soon as the international community and the UN pressure Myanmar into repatriating them, reported Dhaka Tribune.

"The Bangladesh government has an extremely tolerant approach towards Rohingyas and we are also working to implement the Rohingya repatriation deal," he added.

Since August this year, at least 655,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar and have taken shelter in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar.

"I salute the locals of Cox's Bazar for their unimaginable support towards Rohingyas. Not a single Rohingya man or woman died without treatment in our land," Nasim said.

This year, beginning from August, the world witnessed one of its worst refugee crises when thousands of Rohingyas left their homes in the Rakhine State of Myanmar to Bangladesh to avoid violence and persecution at the hands of the country's army.

Bangladesh, on its part, has clearly stated that it can't take care of food, shelter, and healthcare of millions of refugees because of its limited resources.

However, the Bangladesh government clarified that since it is a humanitarian issue involving millions of people it has given temporary shelter to the Rohingyas.

Initially, the Myanmar government was reluctant to take back its own people, but because of the international pressure, it has now "officially" agreed for the repatriation of Rohingyas.

Recently, the group, Doctors Without Borders, released a survey which found that nearly 7,000 Rohingya had been killed in the first month of the Rakhine violence.

The military has put the number in the hundreds and denied targeting civilians or committing atrocities, while Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi said major security operations stopped in early September.

Responding to international pressure, Suu Kyi's civilian government signed an agreement with Bangladesh to start the repatriation of the stateless Muslim refugees within two months.

The agreement promises the "safe and voluntary return" of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh -- not just the latest 655,000 new arrivals but more than 70,000 from a separate influx in October 2016.

OneIndia News