Dhaka urges resolving Rohingya problem
Dhaka, Bangladesh (KPN): Yesterday, Dhaka urged on her neighbouring country, Burma to resolve the Rohingya problem by changing its system so that the ethnic minority, living in Northern Arakan does not flee to Bangladesh.
"The refugee influx will not stop unless there is a qualitative change in Arakan state, in western Myanmar where the Rohingya people live,” Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters.
“Myanmar authorities in December last year said Rohingyas were not Myanmar citizens but Bangladeshis. But, I presented historical data and necessary evidence on Rohingyas' Myanmarese identity at the meeting on trafficking in persons in Bali,” the Foreign Ministry told reporters on Friday.
"During my Myanmar visit (May 16-17), Burmese leaders admitted that they are Myanmarese and agreed to take them back," the Foreign Minister said.
The comments by Dipu Moni, came after she made an official visit earlier this month to the Myanmar capital. She said she had made progress in getting Myanmar's military rulers to agree to take back displaced Rohingya people but did not divulge details.
Buddhist-majority Burma denies the Bengali-speaking Muslim minority citizenship and property rights, leading to their abuse and exploitation, according to sources.
The exact cause of the recent rise in the number of refugees to Bangladesh is unknown, according to UN and NGO workers in the area.
According to local NGOs, more than 500,000 Rohingya are living in the border area, many of them blending with the local community, but, the UN estimates up to 300,000 Rohingyas live outside the camps.
Reports along the border between the two countries suggest that Bangladesh has in the past month pushed back a higher than usual number of Rohingya people attempting to flee their native country.
Some Rohingyas seek to go to a third country through Bangladesh. The Rohingya issue hit the headlines when hundreds of Rohingya were rescued in Indian and Indonesian waters between December and February trying to enter Malaysia by boat. Some of them died and went missing in the sea, according to a politician from Maungdaw.
“The Rohingya are facing myriad persecutions -- political, social, religious and economic by the ruling junta. The Rohingya face movement and marriage restriction where the community can’t solve their family matters, said a Rohingya leading political group’s spokesperson.
The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister said the refugee flow would not stop unless Burmese authorities guaranteed "qualitative change" in its Arakan state - Rohingyas' motherland.
A Rohingya watchdog group from Cox’s Bazaar said the Rohingya influx will not stop until political stability comes and citizen’s status is given in Northern Arakan.
Bangladesh has not granted any Rohingyas refugee status since 1992.
