Global IssuesRohingya Protest Against Return to Myanmar and Halt Repatriation
COX'S BAZAR/DHAKA, Nov 16 (IPS) - Thousands of Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox's Bazar, the southern-most coastal district in Bangladesh, protested on Thursday, Nov. 15, against an attempt to send them back to Myanmar.
The voluntary repatriation was scheduled to begin Thursday as per a bilateral agreement reached at the end of October between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh. They had agreed to the repatriation of 2,260 people from 485 families at the rate of 150 people per day over 15 days. However plans for repatriations were postponed in the face of massive demonstrations which started Thursday in several of the 27 camps that now host over a million refugees.
The protests, comprising men, women and even children, began soon after midday at one of the smaller camps in Unchiprang near the Myanmar border and soon it spread across other camps, including the biggest camp Kutupalong.
They chanted slogans and waved placards that read - ‘We won't go back,' ‘We demand safety', ‘We want citizenship,' ‘We demand justice'- as rows of buses arrived outside Unchiprang camp. The buses were to transport returnee refugees some 15km from Cox's Bazar to the Bangladesh border of Gundum, from where they would have been taken to Tumbru in Myanmar.
Bangladesh officials in charge of repatriation waited outside the camp asking the families to board the buses but none were willing.
Since last August, more than 700,000 Rohingya—some 60 percent of whom where children, according to the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF)—fled atrocities in Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh.
Many still carry fresh memories of their experiences, which include rape, and sexual violence and the torching of homes with people still inside.
"Why should we return?" shouted Nahar, a 26-year-old mother of three who arrived last July. She said that returning to Myanmar means going to a death camp.
Yousuf Ali, a resident of neighbouring Shamlapur camp said, "You want us to commit suicide?" A fellow refugee from Jamtoli camp said, "There is no guarantee that we would survive once we return."
The government of Bangladesh along with local and international aid organisations and U.N. agencies, have been working together to provide shelter, medical services, schooling and food to almost one million people.
Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's Refugee, Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, and also a magistrate attached with Cox's Bazar district office, told IPS, "We were prepared for the repatriation. Earlier we had sought a voluntary decision and made informed choices on the return of the refugees. No one responded with the decision to return home in Myanmar and so we had to postpone the programme."
On Tuesday, 50 of the identified families selected for return, were interviewed by the U.N. to find out whether families agreed to return. None agreed, according to Kalam.
"They refused to go now but we remain prepared to facilitate their return home. Our counterpart from Myanmar was also present on the other side of the border … So far we know Myanmar had also taken all preparations for the much-expected repartition to start today," Kalam said.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet this week urged Bangladesh to halt the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, saying the move would violate international laws. "With an almost complete lack of accountability -- indeed with ongoing violations -- returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades," Bachelet said.
In October chair of the U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman, said that the Myanmar government's "hardened positions are by far the greatest obstacle" to repatriation. He had also said, "Myanmar is destined to repeat the cycles of violence unless there is an end to impunity." The U.N. has called the full investigation into genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rakhine State.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali briefed the media on Thursday evening in the capital Dhaka, saying that Bangladesh would not forcibly return Rohingyas to Myanmar.
"There have been campaigns that the Bangladesh government is sending them back forcibly. From the beginning we have been saying that it will be a voluntary return. There is no question of forcible repatriation. We gave them shelter, so why should we send them back forcibly?" he said.
Mia Seppo, U.N. resident coordinator in Dhaka, told reporters at the joint press conference that, "The U.N. actually welcomes the commitment of the government of Bangladesh to stick to the principle of voluntary repatriation, which has been demonstrated today."
Abu Morshed Chowdhury, President of Cox's Bazar Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of Cox's Bazar Civil Society NGO Forum, told IPS, "There were some flaws in the plans for the Rohingya repatriation. How can the refugees return, even if it's voluntary, without ensuring their citizenship? The U.N. agencies have the responsibility to ensure this."
He added that U.N. should have "been more active in their roles to allow smooth repatriation."
Rezaul Karim Chouwhury, Executive Director of COAST Bangladesh, one of the leading NGOs working to address the Rohingya crisis also echoed the same concerns.
"There were flaws in the plans too, because we know that sooner or later the Rohingyas have to return to settle back. The bilateral agreement paved the way for the initiation of the repatriation and rehabilitation but the key players (international) in my opinion have not been so active," he told IPS.
Caroline Gluck, Senior Public Information Officer, U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cox's Bazar, told IPS that every refugee has the right to freely decide their own future and the right to return. Their decisions should be based on relevant and reliable knowledge of the conditions within the country of origin.
"Access restrictions in Rakhine State currently limit UNHCR's ability to provide such information. Only refugees themselves can make the decision to exercise their right to return and when they feel the time is right for them. It is critical that returns are not rushed or premature," she said. She added that the UNHCR supported the voluntary and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees in safety and dignity to their places of origin or choice.
"We will work with all parties towards this goal. However, we do not believe that current conditions are conducive to returns in line with international standards. The responsibility for creating these conditions lies with Myanmar."
*Additional Reporting by Mohammed Mojibur Rahman in Cox's Bazar
© Inter Press Service (2018) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service