AS the monsoon threatens the Rohingya refugees with the outbreak of vector-borne epidemics and diarrhoeal diseases, the repatriation process seems to be getting more and more complex. However, Bangladeshi officials at a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday urged Myanmar to hand over a ‘specific list’ of members of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), if any, staying in Bangladesh territory.
At the meeting of the joint working group on Rohingya repatriation, the Myanmar side raised the issue of ARSA and Bangladesh officials asserted that there was no existence of members of the group inside Bangladesh territory.
The ARSA issue is just another excuse for Myanmar to buy time and delay the repatriation process. Many Rohingyas brand their fellows as members of the group out of their previous enmity. Moreover, since the ARSA members are not Bangladeshi citizens, the Bangladesh government is not supposed to have detailed information and lists about the organisation. If Myanmar had any specific information, a list should be handed over to Bangladesh so that they could be identified.
It has been reported that in September last year Myanmar handed over a list of 200 alleged terrorists to our Inspector General of Police at a meeting held in China. Bangladesh police had also engaged its counter terrorism officials to verify allegations, but we are completely in the dark about the progress and outcomes of that investigation.
It is silly to entertain the allegation of terrorists among the refugees from Myanmar. They must take back their people and find out who are the terrorists. It is not good for us to deal with their terrorism problem. We must not treat ourselves as fools. But the Myanmar government is daring to treat us as dumb. We must know our helplessness and seek world help.
