2020: Another year of agony for Rohingyas

GBNEWS24 DESK//

People live in hope. Ronhingya refugees also do so and thus they spent another, 2020, that they would have a dignified return to their homeland in Myanmar. But, the hope for a better day did not come.

Now that it is another new year, 2021!

The year 2021 is expected to see fresh talks on Rohingya repatriation with no discussion in 2020collided with Covid-19 pandemic and Myanmar general elections as big countries find the repatriation of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is the only solution.

More than three years ago, Myanmar’s soldiers “targeted, killed, and raped” Rohingya and burned their villages, as the United Nations, Refugees International, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the U.S. State Department itself, and many others have documented.

Over 800,000 Rohingyas fled the “genocidal violence” and Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas.

“We had our last formal discussion with Myanmar in January this year (2020). Though Myanmar agreed to take back their nationals after verification, no Rohingyas returned home. There is a lack of sincerity from Myanmar side,” Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told UNB.

He said the Rohingyas do not trust their government, and Bangladesh gave a number of proposals to build trust among them. “Myanmar didn’t say no to those proposals but no proposal was implemented.”

Bangladesh is trying in multiple ways – bilaterally, multilaterally, tri-laterally and through the judicial system – to find a lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis.

“Myanmar is a friendly country. They aren’t our enemy. We’ve nothing against Myanmar. Myanmar must create a conducive environment as Bangladesh wants to see the return of Rohingyas to Myanmar in safety and security,” Dr Momen said.

Bangladesh proposed deployment of non-military civilian observers from Myanmar’s friendly countries — Japan, China, Russia, India and Asean countries.

“Myanmar did neither say yes or no on that particular proposal,” said the Foreign Minister adding that Bangladesh also proposed visits of Rohingya leaders to Rakhine and Myanmar government officials’ visit to Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar to interact with the Rohingays.