Rohingya Repatriation: Situation ‘not bad’ at Maungdaw

The situation at Myanmar's Maungdaw township where Rohingyas will be resettled is "not bad", said Rohingya Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman yesterday.

"We did not see anything bad at Maungdaw. We have seen many Rohingyas doing trade and business there. As per my data, 80 percent of the people there are Rohingya," he told reporters in Cox's Bazar.

He said this after returning from a visit to the township with a delegation of 20 Rohingyas to see the arrangements made by the Myanmar authorities for a planned repatriation of a group of Rohingyas by the end of this month.

The delegation was accompanied by seven government officials led by Mizanur.

"We have seen the willingness of Myanmar authorities to facilitate repatriation. The problem, which has been around for about 60 to 70 years, will not be solved overnight. We are hoping that it [repatriation] will be sustainable," he added.

Asked whether the Rohingyas are satisfied with the arrangements, he said, "Both the parties must have a self-sacrificing mindset. We want to begin the repatriation.

"As per the accord… some [Rohingyas] may be relocated to the place of their origin, while others may be to a  place nearby. It will go through a process.

"Myanmar officials will visit here and talk to Rohingyas. We are doing all these to build their [Rohingays'] confidence and to make them feel assured."

However, Mohammad Selim, a member of the delegation, told reporters that Rohingyas would not return until they were granted citizenship.

"We visited the area and talked to them [Myanmar authorities]. They have told us we will be relocated there.

"But we don't want to live in a camp in our country. We want to live on our own land in our village. We don't want financial assistance.

"Besides, they told us we would not be given citizenship. We will be given some kind of permission to live there. But we don't want that. We want citizenship.

"We will return to Myanmar only after our demands are met."

Selim did not say anything about the resettlement arrangements made in Myanmar.

Yesterday was the first time a Rohingya delegation visited Rakhine since their largest influx in 2017.

A community leader, a teacher, an imam, and three women were among the 20 delegates.

The team departed Teknaf by a boat on the Naf river at 9:20am.

After the delegates reached Nakfura ghat in Myanmar, they were first taken to villages to see the construction work for their resettlement. Then they visited a transit centre in Maungdaw through which the repatriation would be conducted.