NO FORCED RETURN OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES TO MYANMAR, BANGLADESH PROMISES
According to a senior UN official, Bangladesh has pledged that no Rohingya refugee would be sent back to Myanmar without their will as part of the contentious planned repatriation procedure.
“Refugees who wish to return should have access to clear, factual information to be able to make free and informed decisions,” Kelly T. Clements, the UN deputy high commissioner for refugees, said in a statement late Monday after a four-day visit to Bangladesh.
“Under no condition should refugees be forced or coerced to return, which the government assured us would not happen,” added Clements, who met both government officials and refugees.
A million or so Rohingya live in Bangladesh, most of whom fled a military crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar in 2017 that is currently the focus of a UN genocide probe.
Despite having origins in Myanmar dating back generations, the Rohingya are commonly perceived as foreign invaders from Bangladesh and are stateless as of 2015, when Myanmar stopped to recognise their citizenship.
Despite objections from rights organisations and others that advocate for refugees, such as Human Rights Watch, which warned last month that the plan carries “grave risks,” Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to a pilot repatriation of 1,176 refugees.
Any repatriation would only be done on a voluntary basis, according to Bangladesh.
A number of Rohingya who were selected for the repatriation scheme, however, claimed AFP they had been threatened with joining.
One Rohingya man, who asked for anonymity, said refugee camp leaders had called him every day. “They said: ‘If you don’t go, you can’t stay here, we will beat you.'”
Another Rohingya refugee, also speaking on the understanding his name would not be used, said he had been told to leave — but would do so only if Myanmar gave him back his land.
“They said: ‘You have to go, you can’t stay here,'” he said.
“But why should we go if we don’t get our land back? If they (Myanmar) give us citizenship, we will return. If they give us our land, we will go.”
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