Make ‘political investment’ for Rohingyas

National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman has called on the international community to make "political investment" in Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation, saying the situation in Rakhine State is getting better.

Addressing a panel discussion on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday, he said many Rohingyas were brought to their villages from the internal displacement camps and that new mosques were built for them.

Speakers, including the US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, officials from Kosovo, Liberia, Panama, and Hungary, took part in the event titled "Global Refugee Asylum System: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It".

"I'll give you some good news. The place where they [Rohingyas] came from is called Rakhine State of Myanmar, and 85% to 90% of the territory has been taken over by the Arakan Army (AA)," said Khalilur, also chief adviser's high representative on the Rohingya crisis and matters of priority.

Stating that he is in frequent touch with the AA, he said last week the AA sent him pictures where their army head was talking to Rohingyas who had been brought in from the internal displacement camps back to their villages.

"The village headman is being chosen from among them. They built some new mosques; they opened a grand mosque in one of the major towns. So, things are getting better. This is the time when you actually make the political move," Khalilur said.

"So, I would urge everybody to make sure that in the next few months we come together and pledge -- to ourselves and to the refugees -- that we will make this political investment."

About 7.5 lakh Rohingyas fled a military crackdown in Rakhine, joining the others who had fled in the previous years. Every year some 30,000 children are born in Bangladesh Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, with the total number of them being more than 1.2 million.

Rohingyas want to return to Myanmar but say they had no guarantee of citizenship, safety and fundamental rights as their citizenship was denied by a law in 1982.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been in crisis since a military coup in 2021, and the AA has taken control of about 90 percent of Rakhine.

Bangladesh experienced a fresh exodus of Rohingyas from Myanmar in recent months amid escalating conflicts and reports of atrocities against the Rohingyas by the Arakan Army.

Khalilur said the world has spent more than $5 billion on the Rohingyas, with the US being the largest donor and Bangladesh spent probably way more, and in many more ways beyond just money.

"But how much did we all spend on the Rohingyas before they came to Bangladesh? Nothing. Their lands are bountiful, their waters are plentiful. We used to buy food from them. They don't need us -- we need them," he said.

However, he added, "As long as they are here, they have to be fed, they have to be taken care of. But I see far fewer attempts to resolve the issue. It's ridiculous that we keep spending our taxpayers' money, but we are not mobilising enough political resources to resolve this issue."

Referring to the September 30 high level conference to be organised by the UN in New York, Khalilur said Rohingyas from different parts of the world have expressed their desire to go home.

"We are talking about refugees who have been given asylum in Western countries, the United States included. These people want to go home. Please help them go home.

"I don't want any money to be spent on the Rohingyas in three to four years from now. Rather, spend a little money -- a fraction of it -- in Myanmar so that they can restart their lives and get their future back," he said.