Staff Reporter :
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque has refused to confirm any specific date for the beginning of Rohingya repatriation from Cox’s Bazar as reported by the international media.
The Red and Green Research, an initiative of journalists, organised the seminar on the Rohingya crisis at the BIISS auditorium in Dhaka on Sunday where Foreign Secretary commented as saying that “It’s (repatriation) very much on the table. It’s a continuous process. Anytime it can happen”. He did not mention however, any specific date when pressed further
Reuters earlier reported that Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to start a fresh attempt to repatriate on August 22.
“We have agreed to the repatriation of 3,540 people on August 22,” Myint Thu, a spokesman for Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters by phone.
Before replying to questions, the foreign secretary in his speech said they would try to encourage Rohingyas to go back in the “next couple of weeks”.
This is for their own sake, Shahidul Haque said, adding if they don’t go back, they will be deprived not only of land, but also of all of their rights in Myanmar.
