September 12, 2019
No repatriation has occurred despite Myanmar promises.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen today said Myanmar has failed to convince the Rohingyas to return to their own country from Bangladesh.
“It’s the responsibility of the Myanmar government to convince their people to return. They have failed to do it,” he said.
The minister was talking to reporters after a seminar on SDG organised by the Palli Karma-Shahayak Foundation (PKSF) at its auditorium in Dhaka.
Momen said Bangladesh wants voluntary repatriation of forcefully displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar. “We won’t force them (Rohingya) to go back … but we would like to see voluntary repatriation,” he added.
Asked for comments on BBC report that Rohingya villages were demolished and camps were built on those places, Momen said once Rohingya will return, they will build their houses.
“How can they get accommodation if they don’t go there?” he said.
The foreign minister hoped that Myanmar will show sincerity in resolving the issue.
Repatriation efforts of the Rohingya failed twice in the last two years, as Rohingyas refused to return saying that they don’t have the guarantee of citizenship and safety back in Rakhine.