The government would request Myanmar to take back 33,000 registered refugees living in two camps in Cox’s Bazar as a part of total repatriation of Rohingyas entered Bangladesh fleeing persecution in Rakhine state.
Myanmar is likely to dispatch a minister of the office of state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi next week as a part of bilateral move to discuss protracted Rohingya crisis.
Foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali extended an invitation in this regard for the visit at the request made by Myanmar during the UN General Assembly past week, officials said.
‘The visit would take place as a part of the government’s multipronged approach, including bilateral negotiations and discussions at multilateral platforms,’ foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque told New Age on Tuesday.
Asked about the status of Rohingyas in Bangladesh, he said the government would treat them as ‘forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.’
‘They are not migrant people, they are not illegal, they are not refugees,’ he added.
The UN Security Council is likely to hold two discussions on the matter on Tuesday and Thursday.
A Turkish deputy prime minister, two UK state ministers and a ministerial level Japanese delegation are scheduled to reach Dhaka Wednesday to observe Rohingya crisis, foreign ministry officials said.
The foreign ministry would hold a briefing for ambassadors of the UN Security Council member countries in Dhaka on Wednesday. Ambassadors and mission chiefs of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Japan, Italy and Egypt would join the meeting. Six other Security Council member countries do not have embassies in Dhaka.
About 4,80,000 ethnic minority Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, fled unbridled murder, arson and rape during ‘security operations’ launched by Myanmar military in Rakhine on August 25 and entered Bangladesh till September 25, raising a total number of undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees in Bangladesh to over 9,00,000 over the years, according to UN estimates. Tens of thousands more are internally displaced in Rakhine State.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina placed a five-point proposal in the United Nations seeking involvement of the global body and other international communities in resolving the Rohingya crisis with immediate end of violence, setting up of safe zones inside Myanmar under UN supervision and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas.
The government has engaged with the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, India and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pursue Rohingya repatriation at the international levels.
Myanmar might suggest for verification of citizenship of Rohingyas for repatriation and it would be time-consuming and difficult exercise as the country opted for bilateral process to resolve the crisis, officials said.
Repatriation of 33,000 registered refugees living in UNHCR-run camps might be easier as verification would not be required for them, they hoped.
Source: New Age
