Recently, a team of Myanmar delegates visited Bangladesh Rohingya Refugee camps to ensure potential return of the refugees to their homeland.
On Monday, an interview of a Rohingya refugee by Arab News conveyed that, their citizenship and basic rights must be guaranteed before returning to Myanmar. Around 400 refugees are about to return to their homeland and apart from that more than 1,100 listed as a returnees on the first batch.
An 18-year-old Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar, Abdur Rahman told Arab News, “I am willing to return to Myanmar if we are guaranteed citizenship and other associated rights, like freedom of movement.”
Rahman also added, “Our houses were burnt down. Some of my relatives are still living in Rakhine, I talk with them almost every day. As they told me, the situation in Rakhine is far better now.”
A Bangladesh foreign ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Arab News, “At the moment, it’s difficult to specify any time frame in this regard. We can say that both parties are working to solve the problems.”
However, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said conditions in Rakhine State were still “not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
In a statement, the UNHCR said it was “not involved in the discussions” of a potential return of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh to Myanmar.
“We reiterate that every refugee has a right to return to their home country based on an informed choice, but that no refugee should be forced to do so,” the UNHCR added.
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