UNHCR will be involved in Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali on Saturday said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be involved in the repatriation process of Rohingya refugees.

"The signing of the arrangement is an initial step . there are more steps. UNHCR will be involved in the repatriation process of Rohingyas," the Dhaka Tribune quoted Ali, as saying.

More than 620,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since the Myanmar security forces launched an operation in response to alleged attacks by militants on August 25 against 30 police posts and a regimental headquarters.

"Their houses have been torched . where will they stay after going back . I have talked to China and Myanmar over their rehabilitation there and they agreed to extend their cooperation," the foreign minister said.

 

Bangladesh and Myanmar on Thursday signed a deal on repatriation after both the countries came to a consensus following a meeting between Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali and Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said the Rohingya repatriation process will start soon.

"The return shall commence within two months," Bangladesh foreign ministry said in a statement, adding, "A Joint Working Group will be established within three weeks of signing the 'arrangement'."

The long pending talks started on Wednesday with the aim of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable both the countries to start the repatriation process of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to their homeland Myanmar.

There is global outrage over the distressing plight of dispossessed Rohingya in Bangladeshi camps currently.

On October 12, a United Nations' report based on interviews conducted in Bangladesh found that brutal attacks against Rohingyas in the northern Rakhine state have been well-organised, coordinated and systematic, with the intent of not only driving the population out of Myanmar, but preventing them from returning to their homes.

The Rakhine state is home to the Rohingya community of Myanmar, ethnic Muslims, who have long faced persecution in the Buddhist-majority country, especially from the extremists.