Bangladesh has been in discussions with the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group based in Rakhine, under a United Nations initiative for restoring stability in the state of Myanmar with an aim to send back the Rohingya people sheltered in Bangladesh.
The government is also mulling an option to allow a 鈥榟umanitarian channel鈥� for providing aids to the conflict-ridden Rakhine state under the UN initiative.
鈥榃e are discussing the repatriation process of Rohingyas with the Arakan Army, who has the declared position to take back the Rohingyas since Rakhine is an autonomous state of Myanmar,鈥� the chief adviser鈥檚 high representative on Rohingya issue and priority matters Khalilur Rahman told a press conference in Dhaka city on Tuesday while sharing the outcome of the interim government chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus鈥檚 participation in the 6th BIMSTEC Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 3-4.
He said that they have continued discussions over the Rohingya repartition, the only solution to the crisis, with Myanmar authorities and all other stakeholders, including international communities, as they were having the list of Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh verified by the Myanmar authorities as per a bilateral deal with Myanmar signed in 2018.
Khalilur said that the UN had brokered the talks between the Arakan Army and the Bangladesh authorities in efforts to establish a 鈥榟umanitarian channel鈥� from Bangladesh to the Rakhine state devastated by the ongoing conflicts and now in need of medical and other supplies.
鈥楾he UN has brought the two parties to the table for discussions. We are considering providing humanitarian assistance, led by the UN, to the crisis-ridden Rakhine state,鈥� said Khalilur, a former diplomat.聽聽
He said that the return of Rohingyas would not proceed until there was a stable situation in the Rakhine state where the Arakan Army, military wing of the United League of Arakan, was fighting against Myanmar military forces for greater autonomy.
Bangladesh was in discussions with the Myanmar regime, the authorities controlling Arakan (Rakhine state) on the ground, international communities and friendly countries as well, he added.聽
He said that the summit in Bangkok highlighted regional cooperation, including discussions on the protracted Rohingya crisis.
鈥楧uring the summit, I met U Than Swe, Myanmar鈥檚 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. We have made significant progress regarding the repatriation since the agreement was signed in 2018 with them,鈥� said Khalilur.
He mentioned that Bangladesh has submitted a list of 8,00,000 Rohingyas in six phases between 2018 and 2020. Myanmar has reviewed 2,50,000 of these names and identified 1,80,000 people who they confirmed for repatriation to Myanmar initially.
鈥楾hey (Rohingyas) are not leaving tomorrow. A repatriation process requires careful preparation 鈥� ensuring safety, livelihood opportunities and a stable environment,鈥� he added.
While visiting Bangladesh, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres on March 15 said in Dhaka that return of Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar in the present situation was extremely difficult and raised the issue of allowing a humanitarian channel from Bangladesh to the Rakhine state.
鈥業f circumstances allow to have a humanitarian channel from Bangladesh that is obviously a matter. That would require authorisation and cooperation,鈥� he said.
Responding to a question, foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain, however, said on the day that the issue of providing a 鈥榟umanitarian corridor鈥� from Bangladesh to the bordering Rakhine state of Myanmar was not discussed with the UN secretary general during the visit.
He said that Bangladesh also believed that the solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis must be found in Myanmar, and its primary solution was return of the Rohingyas to their homeland in a safe, dignified, and voluntary manner as over 12 lakh displaced people from the Rakhine state were sheltered in Cox鈥檚 Bazar camps.
There was heavy fighting between the Myanmar Army and the Arakan Army, said Guterres, who visited Bangladesh from March 13 to March 16, responding to the issue of Rohingya repatriation from Bangladesh.
Without giving further details, he said that dialogues must be held with the Arakan Army.
The Bangladesh government has been continuing efforts to send back the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland without any progress, with the number of displaced people sheltered in Bangladesh camps increasing every year since the 2017 influx of Rohingyas amid a military crackdown on them in the Rakhine state.
The number of Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh camps is increasing with an average new births of 30,000 every year, according to the government data.
