Myanmar trying to take back Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh

Myanmar officials have met with Rohingya refugee families in Bangladesh to discuss their repatriation to Myanmar, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

The officials travelled to Bangladesh on Tuesday to meet with refugees amid a new repatriation plan brokered by China. Myanmar has agreed to accept the return of around 3,000 refugees by December.

Bangladesh hosts nearly one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Myanmar in 2017, when the military launched what the United Nations describes as a campaign with “genocidal intent” against the mostly-Muslim minority.

Many of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh live in overcrowded, dangerous and under-resourced refugee camps, and several previous attempts to broker their return home have failed due to reluctance from Myanmar and refugees’ fear of further persecution.

Rohingya community leaders remain wary, saying that they will return only with certain guarantees, such as citizenship and resettlement on their own land.

Human rights organisations have previously voiced concerns that conditions for the safe, sustainable and dignified return of Rohingya to Myanmar do not currently exist.