To start a small-scale family-based Rohingya repatriation to specific villages of Rakhine, a high-level negotiation meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar has concluded on April 18 at the Chinese city of Kunming mediated by the Beijing government.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen led the Bangladesh team, Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar was present along with few officials, however, Myanmar senior officials discussed the issue with Bangladesh delegation in presence of the Chinese senior Foreign Ministry officials and Chinese Communists party officials, high placed sources said.
"The Negotiations on family-based Rohingya repatriation to specific villages began three years back under the facilitation of China, however, the process was stalled due to the corona epidemic and the seizure of power by the Myanmar army. Over the past few months China has put pressure on Myanmar in this connection, Myanmar was now active to start the process again," a Foreign Ministry official told the Daily Observer on Wednesday.
Myanmar has now brought forward the issue of repatriation of more than 1,000 Rohingyas from Bangladesh under the pilot project, official added.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen Monday met with Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to discuss various issues including the Rohingya repatriation.
Earlier, a delegation of 17 Myanmar officials visited the Cox's Bazar camps in Bangladesh from March 15 to 22, interviewed 449 in the Teknaf camps for "verification" for the pilot repatriation process as the Mayanmar military government wants to start the pilot programme before the upcoming monsoon season.
"Over the past few months China has put pressure on Myanmar in this connection. As part of these developments, eleven diplomats of eight countries have been shown on the ground including interim camps in Myanmar's Maungdoo and Sittwe cities of Rakhine State, as the Myanmar government air marked the areas as the shelter of returnees Rohingya, ASEAN also wants repatriation to begin," official said.
"The observations of the diplomats who visited Rakhine are that the situation in Rakhine has improved from 2018 to 2020. The Rohingyas in the temporary IDP (internally displaced persons) camps there now have the opportunity to go to Sittwe. Even two years ago no one was allowed anywhere near the camps. Also, last year around 230 Rohingya students were admitted to Sittwe University. After 2012 this is the highest number of representatives of the Rohingya community admitted to university. The Rohingyas in Rakhine are also getting access to health services," the Ambassadors said following the visit.
"Yes, we had a courtesy meeting (with a Chinese special envoy). Surely, there was a discussion on the Rohingya repatriation.
We hope they will return to their homes with dignity," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Tuesday when asked about his recent meeting with Chinese special envoy Deng Xijun.
The Foreign Minister said many are working to help facilitate the Rohingya repatriation. "I should say they (China) have taken a very good initiative and they are working accordingly," he added.
Critic said that the coming 24 of April has been set as the deadline for Myanmar to place its counter argument regarding the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As a good friend of Myanmar, China feels international pressure on Myanmar will lessen if the repatriation process begins.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh government had handed over a list of 862,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar. After scrutinising the list, Myanmar said it would take about around 70,000 from among them, at the start, over 1,000 Rohingyas will be taken back under family-based repatriation. This includes around 100 or so Hindu Rohingyas.
Nearly one million Rohingya Muslim refugees are living in camps in the border district of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, most having fled a military-led crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
A tripartite method for the repatriation of Rohingyas living in Bangladesh was collaboratively devised by Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China during the UN General Assembly session in September 2019. The three nations decided to establish a cooperative working group to carry out the repatriation.
China started the first round of the trilateral meeting in 2018, and on January 20 in 2021, there was a virtual tripartite meeting. The repatriation was scheduled to begin by June 2021 at the conclusion of the negotiations, but it hasn't yet.
