Bangladeshi foreign minister (FM) AK Abdul Momen has expressed hope that Southeast Asian nations will put pressure on Myanmar to take back its displaced Rohingya population that has been fleeing prosecution and violence in the country over the past few years and bring them home.
“Around 1.1 million persecuted Rohingyas are now being sheltered in Bangladesh. Our priority is that these Rohingya persecuted people should go back to their homes for a decent living... Now that the Myanmar government has been invited by ASEAN (to) the summit in Indonesia, this is good news. At least they will go there and then maybe they will be pressurised by ASEAN, hopefully, to take their people back,” Momen told CNBC’s “Streets Signs Asia” on Monday. The minister refrained from taking a stance on Myanmar’s ongoing political and humanitarian crisis as a result of the February 1 military coup but did stress that Dhaka did not support violence, as it only leads to “more violence and uncertainty.” He also said that Bangladesh “believes in democracy” and that it wants “the legal system to hold.”
Bangladesh has long been hoping to begin the repatriation of several Rohingya Muslims, most of whom entered Bangladesh in August 2017 in the aftermath of a deadly attack against the community by Myanmar’s military, which the United Nations (UN) said had “genocidal intent”. Even though the Myanmar government had previously signed a repatriation agreement with Bangladesh under mounting international pressure, the process has not taken flight yet.
Since then, they have been housed at refugee camps in Bangladesh. However, Dhaka’s decision to relocate the refugees from Cox’s Bazar camp to the dangerously cyclone-prone Bhasan Char island in the Bay of Bengal has been met with severe criticism. Despite investing in infrastructure, the camp faces heavy flooding every year, thereby endangering the lives of the residents. Yet, according to official statistics published by the Bangladeshi government, the population of the camp continues to grow by 64,000 each year.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has long-denied rights to the Muslim ethnic minority, which has its own language and culture. It even revoked their voting rights in the most recent election and refused to recognise them as people in the 2014 census. The denial of their rights has been ongoing for decades because Myanmar views the Rohingyas as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who moved to Myanmar during the British colonial era. Since the February 1 military coup, hoards of Myanmarese citizens, including ethnic minorities, have fled the escalating violence.
Bangladesh Calls on ASEAN to Pressurise Myanmar to Take Back Rohingya
At a time when thousands are fleeing bloodshed in Myanmar, Bangladesh expressed hope that ASEAN will pressure Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingya refugees who have entered Bangladesh.
April 21, 2021
SOURCE: RAFIQUR RAHMAN | REUTERS