BD finds progress in talks; sees Rohingya repatriation very complex, difficult

Terming Rohingya repatriation very complex and difficult, Bangladesh on Thursday said it is trying to work together with Myanmar for quick repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

“You know such repatriation is always very complex and difficult matter. But we feel this repatriation starts as early as possible. We don’t have any disagreement over it,” Foreign Secreatry M Shahidul Haque told reporters at state guesthouse Meghna on Thursday afternoon.

He made the remark after the first phase of the second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) with Myanmar.

“There is progress in our discussion,” he said adding that they discussed all the issues related to Rohingya repatriation.

The Foreign Secretary said both sides – Bangladesh and Myanmar - are trying to work together to make sure that repatriation process gets expedited.

“We raised all issues. We wanted to know what they are doing in Rakhine State for the smooth return of Rohingyas,” a senior official told UNB who attended the meeting.

He said the Myanmar side could not give any satisfactory reply on many issues Bangladesh side raised.
 
Responding to a question, the official said Myanmar could not complete verification of first list. “So, there’s no hurry to place second list. I don’t know how much time they will take to verify others mentioned in the first list.”

The joint working group, dedicated to overseeing the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar, sat in meeting again after the lunch to identify ways for expediting the verification and repatriation process of Rohingyas.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and his Myanmar counterpart Permanent Secretary at Myanmar Foreign Ministry Myint Thu are leading their respective sides at the meeting that began at the state guesthouse Meghna at 11 am on Thursday. The JWG held the first meeting in Myanmar on January 15.

Officials said Bangladesh handed over a list of 1,673 Rohingya families (8,032 individuals) to Myanmar on February 16 to start the first phase of repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland in Rakhine state.

Myanmar has so far verified less than 900 Rohingyas out of 8,032 names of Rohingyas after verification in several steps, said an official.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation agreement on November 23, 2017. On January 16, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on 'Physical Arrangement' which will facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh. 

The 'Physical Arrangement' stipulates that the repatriation will be completed preferably within two years from the start of repatriation.

Bangladesh currently has a Rohingya population, which is far more than Bhutan’s entire population.

Bhutan has around 800,00 people whereas Bangladesh had to give shelter to some 1.2 million Rohingyas.

Source: unb