Preparation for sending 1,100 Rohingyas with Chinese cooperation underway

Staff Reporter :
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Sunday said that the process of sending 1,100 Rohingya to Myanmar with the cooperation of China is underway.
“It is not that these Rohingyas can be sent back immediately. The situation needs to be assessed thoroughly before the repatriation process can begin,” he said while talking to the journalists in the Foreign Ministry.
He also stated that the Myanmar side has shown positive response in the Rohingya repatriation and the process can begin if stable situation persists.
“It has been observed that the situation on the Myanmar side has remained unchanged over the past five to six months. Myanmar has also expressed positive response for the sending back of the Rohingyas. If there is a conducive environment on the Myanmar side, the repatriation process will begin quickly,” he said.
Last year, during a courtesy call with Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban in December, the outgoing Chinese Ambassador Li Jiming had hinted that the repatriation of Rohingyas could begin at the start of this year.
As part of the repatriation process, a delegation of 22 officials from Myanmar on Wednesday arrived in Teknaf to verify the information of the enlisted Rohingyas.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) sources said that the delegation will be working with Bangladesh authorities for four to five days to identify and verify the Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh over five years ago.
The verification process is seen as a crucial step towards the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar. The RRRC said that Bangladesh submitted a list containing the names of more than 800,000 Rohingya individuals who are to be repatriated.
Out of the names on the list, information on 1,140 Rohingya was initially confirmed as verified. Myanmar has given their consent for the return of 711 of these Rohingyas, but has raised objections to the repatriation of another 429 individuals.
Meanwhile, the Rohingya influx is going to fulfil the cycle of six years, but the Bangladesh government has been unable to repatriate a single Rohingya individual back to their country of origin, Rakhine State in Myanmar.
The Myanmar government has promised to repatriate the Rohingyas, but the process has not been commenced yet when the persecuted Rohingyas expressed concerns about their safety if they return to Myanmar.
The Myanmar government has faced international criticism for its treatment of the Rohingya, with the United Nations describing the violence against them as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Several attempts were taken for the repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland, but the process has not been started due to the negligence of Myanmar government.
Recently diplomats from a total of 11 countries, including Bangladesh, India, China, and other Asian nations, visited various locations in Rakhine for two days on Wednesday and Thursday to observe the situation in Rohingya repatriation.