Rohingya Demand Clear Plan for Return to Myanmar

COX’S BAZAR: Rohingya leaders have urged the international community to provide a clear plan with a specific timeframe to enable the community to return to Myanmar in a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable manner.

United Council of Rohingya (UCR) founding president Maulvi Sayed Ullah said the Rohingya community has been living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for nine years, relying on international assistance.

He said concrete decisions on their future must be made after years of living in uncertainty.

“No more endless displacement. The time has come to create conditions that will allow the Rohingya to return to their homeland.

“This crisis cannot be resolved by leaving the Rohingya in camps indefinitely,” he said.

He said this during a gathering outside the UCR’s temporary office at Rohingya Camp 15 in Ukhiya on Thursday.

The gathering was held a day after Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman called for a clear and credible plan to accelerate the repatriation of the Rohingya while attending a high-level United Nations (UN) event in New York.

The UCR also urged the UN and its member states to go beyond expressions of solidarity and commitment by providing a specific plan for the repatriation process.

According to the organisation’s leaders, a sustainable solution must address the root causes of the crisis in Myanmar, including ending violence and persecution against the Rohingya.

They also called for conditions guaranteeing citizenship rights, security, freedom of movement and a dignified life to be established before the community returns to Myanmar.

At the same time, the UCR called for those responsible for violence and persecution against the Rohingya to be brought to justice through international mechanisms, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Rohingya leader Master Mohammad Soib said discussions alone would not ensure that the repatriation process could be implemented.

“Conditions must be created in Myanmar so that the Rohingya can return home safely and with dignity,” he said.

Rohingya women’s leader Sajida Begum, meanwhile, said women continued to face various hardships throughout the prolonged period of displacement.

The UCR also called on the UN, regional countries and the international community to coordinate efforts to resolve the crisis while continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees.

AGENSI