Rohingya delegation expresses disappointment after visit to Rakhine State, insist on citizenship before returning
TEKNAF CORRESPONDENT, COX’S BAZAR
A delegation of 20 Rohingya, including three female members, visited Mangdu town and surrounding villages in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as part of the “Go See and Visit” program.
Accompanied by a delegation of 7 Bangladeshi officials, the group returned from their visit at 6:00 pm after departing from the Bangladesh-Myanmar transit jetty in Cox’s Bazar Jetty at 9:00 am on Friday.
Commissioner Mizanur Rahman, the leader of the Bangladeshi delegation, said the Bangladesh government is working for sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas and the Myanmar authorities seemed sincere.
The 20 Rohingya members were each selected from 14 families from Teknaf Camp No. 26, 4 families from Camp No. 27, and 2 families from Camp No. 24.
These families were among the 220 Rohingya families who fled to Bangladesh and are currently listed for repatriation.
After the visit, Rohingya representatives Jamila, Abu Sufian, and Karim Ullah told reporters that there was no trace of their own village, and Myanmar authorities did not provide any reply regarding their citizenship decision. Some camps were built to house them.
Efforts have been underway to send Rohingya refugees back to their homeland in Myanmar. As part of the efforts, Bangladesh proposed to send them to Myanmar in advance to monitor the situation. Myanmar initially rejected this proposal but has now agreed. As part of this process, a delegation of Rohingya visited Rakhine Friday, May 5.
Earlier on March 15, a team of 17 people from Myanmar arrived at Teknaf land port rest house and began verifying a Rohingya list as part of the repatriation process. After the verification, 20 members from as many selected Rohingya families observed the initiative taken by the Myanmar government. The pilot project for Rohingya repatriation will begin following this process.
