BD seeks China’s coop to repatriate 5000 Rohingyas staying on no-man’s land

Diplomatic Correspondent :
Bangladesh has sought the cooperation of China, as sole mediator of Rohingya repatriation, to repatriate about 5,000 Rohingyas staying on the no-man’s land of Bangladesh territory to Myanmar.
“We have told China that presently there are roughly 5,000 Rohingyas staying on the no-man’s land of our territory. We have requested China to make arrangements for sending those people to their homeland Myanmar amid the rising tension erupted due to their internal conflicts,” he added.
Hailing from a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming in the State Guest House Padma in the capital on Thursday, Momen informed the journalists about it.
Claiming that the border situation has improved, Foreign Minister said, “Due to the internal clash in Myanmar, mortar shells from Myanmar side had landed inside our territory several times. It created a tense situation there. When we informed the Chinese Envoy, the situation improved.”
Talking about China’s commitment to start repatriation, Dr Momen said, “Chinese Ambassador wanted to convey us a good news. But he could not do it. I told him that you wanted to give us a good tidings. In reply, the envoy said he wanted to do so. He only said that Myanmar is standing on its feet to take back the Rohingyas.”
“China has a good relation with Myanmar. China is working as a facilitator here. The current Junta government of Myanmar has agreed to take back the Rohingyas after creating  
a conducive environment so that the Rohingyas can return voluntarily,” he added.
“We are working with the Myanmar government to send a first batch of Rohingya. The date has not been fixed yet. Some works including verification are remaining. The Myanmar government wants the valid documents of the Rohingyas as part of their verification. But many Rohingyas did not bring their papers during the exodus,” he added. Pointing out the verification problem, Momen said, “The verification has some problems. If a wife is verified, her husband or her child is not verified. If one member is sent, it will not be sustainable. We are working here to resolve such issues.”
“China has told Myanmar not to give emphasis on papers for verification. Forget about the papers. It is a question whether you will take it or not. We have talked about it in today’s meeting,” he added.
In reply to a query about whether he has talked about the Teesta issue, he said, “No, we did not talk about it. Our major point of discussion was Rohingya.”