THE Myanmar authority once again failed to build confidence among Rohingya refugees for returning to their Rakhine homeland. Rohingya people are still saying that they would go to Rakhine State if their demands for ensuring safety and security under international supervision and citizenship with recognition of ethnicity are met. Bangladesh asked the Myanmar authority several times to come up with something new for building trust among the prospective returnees with ensuring safety and security admitting their rights to citizenship. The Rohingya community earlier had submitted a charter of 10-point demands to the visiting Myanmar officials for consideration. But no initiative was taken to meet their demand till the date. One of the major demands was to stop forceful branding of the community as ‘Bengali’ by the Myanmar authority. The persecuted people also had asked to restore the citizenship rights, including the fundamental rights before physical repatriation begins.
The Myanmar government ‘must allow’ the international community, including Bangladesh, to monitor the measures for ensuring safety and security of their lives and properties, cultures, etcetera. Meanwhile, Gambia brought Myanmar to International Court of Justice in The Hague for committing genocide against the Rohingyas. More than 7 lakh Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, entered Bangladesh after Myanmar military started cleansing operations in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. In the course of time, the Rohingya crisis is getting more and more critical. The huge number of Rohingya is a big burden for host country Bangladesh. What’s true is that Myanmar government is too reluctant to repatriate their citizens despite several attempts made by Bangladesh and the UNHCR.
A sustainable repatriation is a must for the stability of this region. In this regard, the international community should come forward to stay beside Rohingya people until their citizenship and other human rights are ensured.
