Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh will push for repatriation of the first batch of Rohingya refugee at the third Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The JWG, dedicated to overseeing the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar, will be held today in Dhaka.
“We want to complete the repatriation of the first batch of verified Rohingyas before the next National Election. Both the sides will discuss the issue on Tuesday’s meeting,” a Ministry official told The New Nation yesterday on condition of anonymity.
Bangladesh has already completed village-wise verification of 8,000 Rohingyas for sending them back in the first batch.
“Bangladesh would seek latest development in Rakhine State as to what steps had been taken for the safe and sustainable return of the Rohingyas to their homeland,” said the Foreign Ministry official, adding, “We want to make sure whether the Myanmar authorities have built the necessary infrastructure or not prior to their return.
He further said Bangladesh wants to make sure that the Rohingyas who are expected to return to Myanmar in the first batch of repatriation have houses and other facilities to live in their own villages.
Bangladesh has already completed the village-wise verification of 8,000 Rohingyas. Officials said, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque would lead the Bangladesh side at the JWG meeting while his counterpart Permanent Secretary of Foreign Ministry Myint Thu will lead the Myanmar side. The Myanmar delegation arrived in Dhaka on Monday to attend the JWG meeting. Officials said the meeting would be held at the State Guest House Meghna followed by a press briefing.
The JWG members from both sides will visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday.
The group was formed on December 19 in Dhaka in accordance with a deal signed between Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali and Myanmar Minister attached with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s office Kyaw Tint Swe on November 23, 2017 in Naypyidaw.
More than 700,000 Rohingyas crossed into Bangladesh and took shelter in makeshift refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar since August 2017 following reviewed violence in Rakhine.
