Dhaka: Bangladesh and Myanmar today
reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya
refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that
their safety is still not assured should they return.
The foreign secretaries of Bangladesh and Myanmar met in
Dhaka to finalise the agreement signed on November 23 for the
voluntary return of nearly three-quarters of a million
stateless Rohingya living in refugee camps along the border.
Myanmar has in the past blamed fires in villages on
Rohingya insurgents who on August 25 attacked security posts,
killing a dozen police and triggering fierce army retribution.
Responding to international pressure, Suu Kyi's civilian
government signed an agreement with Bangladesh to start the
repatriation of the stateless Muslim refugees within two
months.
The agreement promises the "safe and voluntary return" of
displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh -- not just the latest
655,000 new arrivals but more than 70,000 from a separate
influx in October 2016.
Testimonies gathered by AFP from displaced Rohingya in
Bangladesh suggest few refugees wish to return to Myanmar,
where many saw their villages burned to ashes and loved ones
killed.