Cox’s Bazar locals have accused the Rohingyas of intentionally stalling the repatriation process by raising multiple demands, one after another.
More than 700,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, since late August last year, to escape a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine state. More than 400,000 Rohingyas already lived in Bangladeshi camps.
Myanmar denies allegations of: killing, rape, arson, looting, and torture used in its military campaign targeting the mainly-Muslim ethnic minority. Naypyidaw denies the Rohingyas citizenship and forces many of them to live in squalid camps in apartheid-like conditions.
Many global leaders have visited Bangladesh since the world’s largest refugee crisis unfolded. They promised support for the Rohingyas and their repatriation.
Dhaka has signed an agreement with Naypyidaw to return the refugees— but the repatriation process has stagnated.
“We will go back to our motherland only if we are guaranteed citizenship and equal rights,” Abdur Rahim, a Rohingya community leader at Kutupalong camp, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Another Rohingya leader at Palongkhali camp, seeking to remain anonymous, said they want repatriation to be supervised by global leaders, the UN, and international agencies.
“We want to go back peacefully. The situation in Rakhine state will have to be secure for us to live there,” he added.
Myanmar’s Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye met about 40 refugees at Kutupalong camp on April 11. The refugees gave him a list of their repatriation-related demands.
Some Cox’s Bazar locals claim some Rohingya leaders have secret agreements with Myanmar. They claimed the Rohingyas were making new demands to stall repatriation. The claim could not be verified independently.
“They are making demands one after another. This clearly shows that they are trying to delay repatriation,” Rohingya Prevention and Repatriation Committee chief Mahmudul Haque told the Dhaka Tribune.
“If this continues, they will come up with demands that will be impossible to meet. Then they will want to live in Bangladesh permanently,” he added.
