While no efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas seem to be succeeding, a statement from the United States offers a different glimmer of hope. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that the Rohingyas who fled Myanmar’s persecution and took refuge in Bangladesh and are in different parts of the region will be resettled in the United States.
This information was given in a statement sent by the US State Department on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the genocide against the Rohingyas.
Anthony Blinken said that the United States has continued to support the Rohingya since 2017. In the current situation in Myanmar, the Rohingyas will not be able to return to their homeland safely. The United States alone has provided $1.7 billion in humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and other parts of the region, including Myanmar, who have fled violence in Rakhine.
“As part of a broader international emergency humanitarian response, we are working to resettle a significant number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region so they can rebuild their lives in the United States,” said Anthony Blinken.
The top representatives of various countries and organizations of the world regularly come to see the Rohingya camp, try to understand the miserable life of the Rohingya in the camp of Ukhia-Teknaf. Give various assurances. But the dream of these countryless people to return home revolves around that assurance.
British High Commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson commented that it is necessary to put pressure on the Myanmar government to solve the Rohingya issue. He said this at a press conference after a two-day visit to improve the quality of life of the urban poor in Chandpur Municipality on Thursday afternoon.
Robert Chatterton Dickson said, ‘The Rohingya are very lucky. When millions of Rohingya came to Bangladesh, they received unprecedented support from the country’s government. The Myanmar government is being pressured to send the Rohingyas back to Rakhine. It is not very easy, that the matter will be resolved so soon. This requires the intervention of different countries together.’ Robert Chatterton said that he wants to return the Rohingyas safely to the country, “Whenever we can ensure their safety, arrangements will be made to send them back to the country.” If they want to stay in this country, it is necessary to ensure their normal living conditions and education of Rohingya children in the camp through volunteering.’
Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has commented that the government has ‘totally failed’ to get the support of the international community to solve the Rohingya problem. He made this comment at a press conference at the chairperson’s office in Gulshan on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Rohingya crisis on Thursday afternoon.
Fakhrul said, ‘Rohingya crisis is not the only crisis of Bangladesh. This is a global crisis. Unfortunately, the Bangladesh government could not properly arouse or convince the international community that the Rohingya crisis is a global crisis.
Mirza Fakhrul described the government as showing ‘failure’ on the Rohingya issue. He said, ‘Since the beginning of this crisis, the unelected unelected government has been showing extreme failure. The government has not been able to put any effective pressure on Myanmar to repatriate the 12 lakh Rohingya to their homeland Rakhine. We feel that the inability to effectively internationalize this long-standing problem is undoubtedly a huge failure of the government. Mirza Fakhrul said that the return of Rohingya should not be confined only to the Kaguje agreement but to move towards the effective implementation of bilateral and multilateral agreements. The UN, regional organizations and world superpowers should ensure their respective roles in solving this crisis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the country’s military government to include the Rohingya issue in resolving the political crisis in Myanmar. He said this on the occasion of the five-year anniversary of the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh on August 25.
Guterres said the perpetrators of all international crimes committed in Myanmar must be held accountable.
On August 25, 2017, the Rohingya started coming to Bangladesh in groups in the face of massive repression by the Myanmar military. Bangladesh provides shelter for humanitarian reasons. At that time, seven and a half million Rohingyas were sheltered. More than 350,000 Rohingyas were sheltered before this. Currently there are more than 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar. About 30,000 Rohingyas have been shifted to Bhasanchar.
The repatriation talks of Rohingyas with Myanmar have been stalled for the past three years. As a result, there is growing concern among the hopeless Rohingya. They are especially worried about the planned killing of leaders who are trying to repatriate.
Rohingyas have always said that they are ready to return to their country if they get full citizenship rights. They are questioning the role of the international community in this regard. Meanwhile, many crises have intensified in the last five years, including drugs, murders, gun violence, destruction of forests, and disasters in the health sector surrounding the Rohingyas. It is increasing frustration and fear among the locals.
The Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission says the government is working to start repatriation as soon as possible. That is why a list of Rohingyas has been sent to Myanmar. And the United Nations Refugee Agency says that repatriation will not be successful if the return environment to Myanmar is not ensured.
Michelle Bachelet, the High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, who recently visited Bangladesh, commented that if the repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is not done voluntarily and properly, they will return again. He said the Rohingyas want to go back, but it should be voluntary and in a safe environment. But the truth is that the environment for them to return there has not yet been created. We have been calling on the member states of the United Nations to cooperate with the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
After the United Nations and Japan, the United States and Canada are now joining the humanitarian assistance of the Rohingyas evacuated to Bhasanchar. The State Minister for Foreign Affairs confirmed that the two countries have informed Dhaka in writing about joining Bhasanchar. Shahriar Alam.
Shahriar Alam said that the activities of the United Nations World Food Organization (WFP) have not yet started in Bhasanchar. As a result, the management of the Rohingyas in Bhasanchar was putting pressure on Bangladesh. That will be greatly mitigated by their new cooperative assurances.
(26 Aug/AH/MoA)