Rohingya repatriation top priority: foreign minister

Myanmar will take back the Rohingya refugees and the issue will be resolved through discussion, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday.

"History shows they [Myanmar] took back over 2 lakh Rohingyas who fled here in 1992. So, we are hopeful that this time also they will take them back. But it is difficult to say when it will happen", he said.

Informing that the government has taken all the necessary steps to send back Rohingyas to Myanmar, Momen said, "We are continuously in discussion with Myanmar. We are doing bilateral negotiations with them as well as have taken multilateral arrangements and talked to the regional powers like India, China and other countries to solve the issue."

The minister was addressing unveiling ceremony of a book named "Rohingya: Nisongo Nipirito Jatigosthi" by Maj (retd) Mohammad Emdadul Islam at Chattogram Press Club.

"All the countries that we have approached acknowledged that it was Myanmar who created the problem and the solution depends on them," said Momen, the chief guest at the event. They all said repatriation of Rohingyas is the only durable solution.

Mentioning that 132 countries have voted for Bangladesh in a resolution, co-tabled by the OIC and European Union, and adopted by the United Nations recently, the foreign minister said, "Some countries including our neighbour abstained from voting."

But they (the neighbouring country) had earlier told us that they would prefer to be neutral, which would help them negotiate with Myanmar.

"We believe those countries who did not give the 'yes' vote did so for strategic reasons, which is fine. Our main priority is to send back the Rohingyas," he said. 

He also informed that Japan is interested in a tri-party arrangement to negotiate with Myanmar.

In the last tri-party meeting in presence of China held on January 20 last year, Myanmar seemed positive as they made some promises, he mentioned.

Informing that the government has so far tried to repatriate Rohingyas twice, but they did not go as Rohingyas do not believe in their government.

Bangladesh gave several proposals to Myanmar for building trust among the Rohingyas in this regard, including visit of Myanmar officials and leaders to the refugee camps, the minister said.

"They came once. That time, they faced so many questions from the refugees that they did not come again," he informed.

The minister said, "We asked them for arranging visit of Rohingya leaders in Myanmar to monitor the current situation but the Myanmar side didn't reply."

Bangladesh also proposed Myanmar for arranging stay of non-military civilian observers from their friendly countries like Asean in Rakhine state so that the refugees are ensured of security but they are yet to take that step, he added.

The minister expressed hope that Bangladesh can solve the problem through discussion.

He also criticised big powers like the US, the UK, South Korea for increasing trade with Myanmar. "They say they stand for human rights. But they keep doing business with a country where human rights have been violated and a genocide was committed," he said.

Among others, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Noufel, local bangla daily Suprobhat Bangladesh Editor Rusho Mahmud spoke at the programme, chaired by Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University Dr Shireen Akhter.