Rohingya repatriation may not be voluntary
While the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar is supposed to start today, Thursday, it is apparent that those on the repatriation list are unwilling to return. The entire process is now enshrouded in uncertainty.
A government official connected to the repatriation process in Cox’s Bazar, on Wednesday morning told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity that the Rohingyas on the repatriation list are not willing to return to Rakhine state of Myanmar at the moment. This is quite clear in the report drawn up based on interviews of 50 Rohingya families taken by the UN refugee agency UNHCR over the past two days.
At a press briefing in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday, the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam said that the government was all set to repatriate the 150 members of 30 Rohingya families. However, after receiving the UNHCR report, he told Prothom Alo that they had sent a letter to the foreign ministry in this regard for their views.
Prothom Alo’s Teknaf correspondent said that the Rohingyas were supposed to be sent off from a temporary camp in Ghumdhum, but that wasn’t fully prepared as yet. There were to be 57 houses in this camp, each to accommodate 15 Rohingyas who were willing to return to Rakhine, However, till Wednesday, no one had arrived there.
According to an official of the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner’s office, the plan to keep the Rohingyas in this camp had fallen through due to lack of cooperation from UNHCR. The Rohingyas were taken directly by bus and trucks, under the supervision of Bangladesh government, to the Myanmar border.
UN DELAYED RESPONSE
Bangladesh and Myanmar had decided on 30 October that the Rohingya repatriation would begin mid-November, but UNHCR and other UN agencies had opposed this decision. UNHCR objected to the UN being bypassed in this repatriation process and said Bangladesh did not inform them of this decision beforehand.
However, documents show that Bangladesh had informed UNHCR of the matter on 28 October and had submitted a list of the Rohingyas who were to return to Rakhine.
UNHCR only took to the field on 13 November, having wasted two weeks to determine whether the Rohingyas were returning voluntarily or not. The UNHCR did not respond to phone calls made to inquire about the matter.
THE GUARDIAN REPORT
According to a Guardian report, the presence of the military, police and BGB around the Rohingya camps indicates that the repatriation is not likely to be voluntary.
Several Rohingyas, not even on the repatriation list, have slipped away from the camp.
The army is keeping a strict watch to restrict the Rohingyas to remaining within the camps, but many have managed to flee to places from where they will not be repatriated.