THOUSANDS of Rohingya refugees on Sunday in a rally marking the second anniversary of their exodus into Bangladesh called for citizenship and rights in Myanmar. Though Myanmar made commitments to create conditions conducive to the return of the Rohingyas, the UN says the situation in Rakhine State is at present not suitable for their repatriation. Dhaka also pointed Myanmar’s failure to fulfil its obligations is the main reason for which Rohingyas did not want to voluntarily return to Rakhine. Two repatriation attempts — one on November 15, 2018, and the other on August 22 this year – went futile as Rohingyas sought guarantee for citizenship and safety before going to their ancestral homes.
Refugees’ leaders urged the World Community to intensify pressure on the Southeast Asian country to create a favourable environment for their return to the motherland and hold accountable the perpetrators of genocide. The persecuted people don’t want to go to the camps readied by the Myanmar authorities. But before Rohingyas return, Myanmar must ensure a safe environment under supervision of the World Community, give them back citizenship stripped of in 1982, acknowledge them as an ethnic community, and bring to book those involved in mass killings of Rohingyas and ensure free movement.
Different researchers found that an estimated 25,000 Rohingyas got killed and 19,000 Rohingya women and adolescents were raped during the military crackdown in Rakhine since late August, 2017, while around 43,000 Rohingyas suffered bullet wounds, 36,000 were thrown into fire and 116,000 beaten up by the Myanmar authorities-all indicate genocide.
The traumatized Rohingya people urged not to push them towards death traps. As a host country of the world’s most persecuted stateless people, Bangladesh should be more vibrant in international diplomatic zone and find out a way for their safe return. Dhaka should publicize the Rohingyas’ agony, sufferings, torture and genocide in Myanmar for earning global support in favour of the Rohingyas.
