Rohingya repatriation: UN supervision needed

[Nabil365]

actually Thais are ok coz they have vast exp like that in southern Thailand and understand our situation.so no problem at all in BKK. just one things they concerned that more boat people coming to Thailand shore if this issue cant solve.

Thus we,Burmese just push our people inside Thailand since the Thais are so naive.

 

[EastBengalPro]

@Aung Zaya .. Given the source which is a blatant propaganda site, Just want to clarify are those featured So called Rohingya or Kamar ?? By the onset they look Myanmarese Kamar Muslims not Bengali’s

Even one was a minister!

Since that was a blatant propaganda site, here is some more resources for you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwe_Maung_(politician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Mahmud_(minister)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._Gaffar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur_Ahmed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_(Parliamentary_Secretary)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_Khair_(legislator)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazal_Ahmed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zura_Begum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chit_Lwin_Ebrahim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamsul_Anwarul_Huq

 

[UKBengali]

lol check back the history. Thai F-16 never bombed Myanmar. lol

http://hlaoo1980.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hill-o-seven-thai-burma-border-battle.html

"The situation remained tense, and on 10 May 2001 RTAF F-16s attacked targets in Kyauket area, in the Shon State: according to Myanmar sources, several objects in the villages of Gawli and Lawsansaw – both almost directly on the Thai border - were hit by several “rockets” in two waves.

Rangoon protested strongly against these attacks, threatening to “take appropriate action to protect its national sovereignty and territory integrity”. No additional strikes are known to have been flown by either air force: instead, a series of negotiations followed, in which the then new Thai government managed to decrease tensions.

The “body-count" after the battle for Border Post 9631 was never published by either side, but some Thai sources indicate that the Tahan Pran alone were responsible for the death of up to 80 Myanmar soldiers, while - in total – the Thai side suffered one dead and 37 injured soldiers, as well as three killed civilians and seven wounded. Official Thai sources claimed that also two women were killed in attacks of Myanmar artillery against Mae Sai. "

Even one was a minister!

Since that was a blatant propaganda site, here is some more resources for you

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwe_Maung_(politician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Mahmud_(minister)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._Gaffar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nur_Ahmed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_(Parliamentary_Secretary)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_Khair_(legislator)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazal_Ahmed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zura_Begum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chit_Lwin_Ebrahim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamsul_Anwarul_Huq

Why are you even bothering with the Buddhist turd who is fulfilling his religious duty to his fellow Buddhists?

 

[Nilgiri]

lol check back the history. Thai F-16 never bombed Myanmar. lol

You talking to guy that claims a few BD army commandos defeated a whole Myanmar division inside MM territory or something...they love Rambo movie fantasy for a reason you know

Oh and BD shot down all MAF aircraft after drawing a red line recently....as promised. BD STRONK! BLOGSPOT STRONK!

"I am a Burmese exile taking a near-permanent refuge in New York and Sydney. Here are my essays about Burma and anything else I feel like writing about. And posting the articles I like from selected sites."

 

[Aung Zaya]

They do understand how karen were treated, and bearing the burnt of refugees/drugs themselves along with hordes of Burmese illegal immigrants. You are lucky shinawatra is not in power.

lol this is different case. they do contributed to Thailand economy and social environment. but boat people from BD ,unlike karen, made problem along with southerners like they do in China. this made Thailand headache. if u dont believe , ask any thais.

Given the source which is a blatant propaganda site, Just want to clarify are those featured So called Rohingya or Kamar ?? By the onset they look Myanmarese Kamar Muslims not Bengali’s

sure. bro i will bring some sources for u later. bro now i'm on they way to home.
ok. lets take example of this person.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._A._Gaffar

before he was elected , he was just one of the INDIAN COMMUNITY WHICH CAME FROM COLONIAL INDIA.and he finished his bachelor from Decca. then he tried to present themselves as Rohingya at 1949. but all neglected.he was elected as the Indian Minority later he tried to call himself as Rohingya due to political reason and seperated land.

http://hlaoo1980.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hill-o-seven-thai-burma-border-battle.html

"The situation remained tense, and on 10 May 2001 RTAF F-16s attacked targets in Kyauket area, in the Shon State: according to Myanmar sources, several objects in the villages of Gawli and Lawsansaw – both almost directly on the Thai border - were hit by several “rockets” in two waves.

Rangoon protested strongly against these attacks, threatening to “take appropriate action to protect its national sovereignty and territory integrity”. No additional strikes are known to have been flown by either air force: instead, a series of negotiations followed, in which the then new Thai government managed to decrease tensions.

The “body-count" after the battle for Border Post 9631 was never published by either side, but some Thai sources indicate that the Tahan Pran alone were responsible for the death of up to 80 Myanmar soldiers, while - in total – the Thai side suffered one dead and 37 injured soldiers, as well as three killed civilians and seven wounded. Official Thai sources claimed that also two women were killed in attacks of Myanmar artillery against Mae Sai. "





Why are you even bothering with the Buddhist turd who is fulfilling his religious duty to his fellow Buddhists?

there are thousand of news related to this incident, no one said Thailand F-16s bombed inside Myanmar. if they do it will be total war , not just border clash. and do u notice the source u are holding is just a blog post ?
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/02/14/myanmar.thailand.words/

You talking to guy that claims a few BD army commandos defeated a whole Myanmar division inside MM territory or something...they love Rambo movie fantasy for a reason you know

Oh and BD shot down all MAF aircraft after drawing a red line recently....as promised. BD STRONK! BLOGSPOT STRONK!

"I am a Burmese exile taking a near-permanent refuge in New York and Sydney. Here are my essays about Burma and anything else I feel like writing about. And posting the articles I like from selected sites."

lol hollywood fever.
just wonder they can believe a blog post but refused BBC news in Nef river incident. then they can believe in Rohingya news of BBC again. if i show some link of his blog , i'm sure they will again deny to accept them. I know owner of blog is anti-Rohingya and a Rakhine. lol
lets chant BD STRONK BLOG POST STRONK :p

 

[Banglar Bir]

Foreign minister: UNHCR will be involved in Rohingya repatriation
UNB
Published at 01:29 PM November 25, 2017
Last updated at 02:10 PM November 25, 2017

File photo of Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood AliDhaka Tribune
Nearly a million Rohingya are believed to be staying in Bangladesh
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali has said the UNHCR will be involved in the process of repatriating the forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their homeland.

“The signing of the arrangement is an initial step … there are more steps. UNHCR will be involved in the repatriation process of Rohingyas,” he told the media on Saturday, while briefing on his recent Myanmar visit.

He also hoped that repatriation of the Rohingyas will start within two months.

“Their houses have been torched … where will they stay after going back … I have talked to China and Myanmar over their rehabilitation there and they agreed to extend their cooperation,” the foreign minister said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an ‘arrangement’ on Thursday in Naypyidaw for sending back the Rohingya. Mahmood Ali and Myanmar Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe signed the bilateral instrument at the State Counsellor’s Office in Myanmar.

The ‘arrangement’ stipulates that the return shall commence within two months. A Joint Working Group will be established within three weeks of signing the ‘arrangement’. A specific bilateral instrument (physical arrangement) for repatriation will be concluded in a speedy manner.

More than 600,000 Rohingya fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and took shelter in Bangladesh since late August after the Myanmar military launched a brutal offensive targeting the minority group.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...er-unhcr-will-involved-rohingya-repatriation/

 

[Banglar Bir]

Dhaka-Naypyidaw agreement: The Rohingya point of view
Tarek Mahmud
Published at 04:22 PM November 24, 2017
Last updated at 11:50 AM November 25, 2017

Rohingya refugee children carry supplies through Balukhali refugee camp, October 23, 2017 Reuters
Some of the Rohingya people believe that the Myanmar government is toying with their emotions through the repatriation deal
The Rohingya people living in Bangladesh have given a mixed reaction about a deal signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar on Thursday, outlining the repatriation process of the displaced Rohingya.

Dil Mohammad, 55, who has been living at the no man’s land along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border for the past three months, claimed to have lost his homestead at Maungdaw during the recent violence.

“We never imagined that we will have to abandon everything and leave our country. The Myanmar Army destroyed properties belonging to the Rohingyas in just one night,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

He added the Rohingya people are hoping to finally return home after hearing that the Bangladesh government has signed a repatriation deal with Myanmar.

However, some refugees expressed confusion over how long it would take for the repatriation deal to come into effect.

Commenting on the issue, octogenarian Shajahan Mia said: “I want to go back to my birthplace but do not want to flee again to save my life. I had fled Myanmar in 1991, 2000, 2012 and 2017.

“We are tired of running back and forth between the two countries.”

Some of the Rohingya people believe that the Myanmar government is toying with their emotions through this deal.

Shahida Khatun, hailing from Buthidaung, remains sceptical about the repatriation agreement.

“I do not want to comment on the matter. I hope that decisions benefitting the Rohingya people get implemented this time. I will believe in the effectiveness of this agreement once I see some positive development,” she told the Dhaka tribune.

Many Rohingya are living in Bangladesh for decades, and are longing for their homeland in Myanmar.

Abdur Rahim, who arrived in Bangladesh at the age of 17 in 1991, said: “I have heard many stories from my parents about Myanmar. My roots are in Rakhine, and I want to go and settle there someday. Here, we are introduced as refugees, but I cannot accept this identity.”

According to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission, more than 631,500 displaced Rohingya entered Bangladesh in between August 25 and November 24 following the recent spate of violence in northern Rakhine state.

Human Rights Watch, on the basis of satellite images, revealed that at least 288 villages were partially or completely burned in northern Rakhine State since August 25.

The Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens and forces them to live in camps under apartheid-like conditions.

Even before the recent influx began, several thousands of Rohingyas were already living in Bangladesh since 1991.

According to a statement of Press Information Department (PID), the government has already registered more than 600,000 Rohingyas, to help ease the repatriation process.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...haka-naypyidaw-agreement-rohingya-point-view/

 

[Banglar Bir]

NOVEMBER 25 2017
Deal to repatriate Rohingya to Myanmar a 'stunt': Human Rights Watch
Lindsay Murdoch
Bangkok: Human Rights Watch has described an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to begin repatriating more than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar's violence-wracked Rakhine State as "laughable" and a "public relations stunt."
In a brief statement Bangladesh said the neighbouring countries had agreed to start returning Rohingya to Rakhine within two months. The agreement was signed on Thursday in Naypyitaw.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Myanmar's top military general in Beijing on Friday to discuss China's support.

It comes as the Turnbull Government has for the first time used the term "ethnic cleansing" while referring to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's violence-wracked Rakhine state.

A day after the United States accused Myanmar security forces of committing "horrendous" crimes that amount to ethnic cleaning.

"Australia has consistently said perpetrators of serious international crimes must be held to account and we remain deeply concerned about reports of ethnic cleansing", a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs told Fairfax Media

Australia has refused growing calls to cut the Australian Defence Force's military support for Myanmar's army that has carried out a brutal offensive against Rohingya, including United Nations-documented mass killings, rapes and arson.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has also avoided condemning Myanmar's military or the government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

China has offered diplomatic backing to its southern neighbour throughout the crisis, despite growing pressure from Western countries for the Myanmar military to be accountable for alleged atrocities.

Myanmar authorities have announced plans to bar Rohingya from lands they farmed before fleeing, instead forcing them to resettle in so-called "model villages" which the UN has warned will be little better than creating permanent camps.

Bill Frelick, Refugee Rights Director of Human Rights Watch, said "the idea that Burma [Myanmar] will now welcome them back to their smouldering villages with open arms is laughable."

"Instead of signing on to a public relations stunt, the international community should make it clear that there can be no returns without international monitors to ensure security, an end to the idea of putting returnees in camps, the return of land and the rebuilding of destroyed homes and villages, and many other conditions," he said.

"Even then, it will be hard to build the trust necessary for many Rohingya to voluntarily return unless the Burmese army begins the mammoth task of reversing decades of abuses and discrimination against its Rohingya population."

The agreement is based on a 1990s accord between the countries that allows for the return only of people able to prove their residency in Myanmar.

But more than one million Rohingya in Rakhine have been denied citizenship and other basic rights for years, and many of those who have fled have no identification papers.

Aid agencies have called for any repatriation agreement to allow international oversight but Myanmar insisted in talks with Bangladesh that there be none.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pushed hard for a repatriation agreement, telling journalists in Dhaka that Myanmar "must take back the refugees to their homeland."

Myanmar claims the Rohingya are interlopers from Bangladesh.
www.dfat.gov.au/jointappeal
http://www.smh.com.au/world/deal-to-repatriate-rohingya-to-myanmar-a-stunt-hrw-20171124-gzs87n.html

Aung San Suu Kyi escapes with a bouncing cheque
www.thestateless.com/2017/11/aung-san-suu-kyi-escapes-with-a-bouncing-cheque.html

Naypyidaw: Bangladesh's Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali (left) shakes hands with Myanmar's de factor leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday - AFP
By Dr. Anita Schug, Spokesperson of the European Rohingya Council
The de facto leader of Myanmar surely has learned a lot from her more dominant power-sharing military generals. Till today, all her political decisions rhymed with the Buddhist radical ideology and the military, both of whom are determined to complete the “unfinished business” of total extermination of Rohingya from their ancestral land, Arakan.

Even before Aung San Suu Kyi’s party took power, thousands of Rohingya were forced to leave their homes in 2012’s violence, and to this day as many as 120,000 Rohingya are living in concentration camps such as IDP camps in Sittwe. In 2016, in the period of her role as the state-counsellor, 87,000 Rohingya had to flee for their lives to neighbouring Bangladesh. Since August 25, 2017, another 625,000 severely traumatised Rohingya fled, becoming the abandoning living-products in Bangladesh.

Due to the mounting international pressures, possible trade and other sanctions and her being linked to unimaginable crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing along with the military hardliners, she and her government have been using different smear tactics to get away with their crimes against Rohingya ethnic minority.

Not only do all her actions and speeches prove of her to be morally corrupt as her military counterparts but also has enormously proved that she, too, has mastered in hit-and-run strategies without the fear of being ever caught and brought to justice.

The international community is very much aware of the outcome of the ongoing Rohingya crisis, and they also know nothing will save the Rohingya unless a persistent external power rushes to come into rescue. However, the international community has been very clumsy, continuing to turn a blind-eye in dealing with one of the largest ongoing refugee crisis and Rohingya exodus in history.

Myanmar’s governing elites have been testing the scale of international community’s reaction since 1978. They have sensed the lack of political will of the international community towards stopping the Rohingya genocide. So far, Myanmar’s governing bodies and the military have successfully got away without being held accountable for their systemic and wide spread crimes inflicted upon this defenceless ethnic Rohingya minority.

With China and Russia as their life guards at the UN Security Council, and Kofi Annan as her prime agent in the international arena, Suu Ky’s government shows unexpected willingness to allow recent Rohingya refugee exodus back to Myanmar. The irony here is that these Rohingya refugees will be detained in so-called model villages instead of their original homes. Rohingya lands have been seized by the government and reallocated to local Rakhine Buddhist population.

The repatriation agreement signed on November 23 between Myanmar and Bangladesh is equivalent to a soon-to-be bounced cheque. No government of Myanmar has the intention to accommodate Rohingya as dignified humans, let alone Rohingya be allowed to enjoy Burmese citizenship.

With the absence of Myanmar´s military who is actually calling the shots, Bangladesh makes a fatal mistake by handling the Repatriation of Rohingya bilaterally even without taking at least one from the UN refugee agency, the European Union or USA on board.

The current repatriation agreement was seen as an escape route by Aung San Suu Kyi´s government as she is fully aware of the facts: “Rohingya will not be voluntarily returning without a guarantee for their citizenship rights. Only very handful of Rohingya will qualify to return based on the 1993 Repatriation Agreement.

It is very unlikely that there will be any amendment of the 1982 citizenship law.”

Sheikh Hasina’s government is aware of the danger of marginalised Rohingya falling prey to Islamic militant groups if Rohingya remain as refugees in Bangladesh. The haste in signing the current agreement to repatriate Rohingya back to Myanmar shows her government is trying effectively to send them back as soon as possible, ignoring the past experiences that Rohingya who were repatriated earlier from Bangladesh continued to face systematic state-sponsored discrimination and waves of violence in Rakhine state.

Bangladesh is one of the poorest nations. When the generosity of the international community and local Bangladeshis will exhaust, the government of Bangladesh will not tolerate anymore to be the dumping ground for Myanmar. It is then, the voluntary return will become forceful repatriation for Rohingya.

What will happen at the end is, thousands and thousands of Rohingya will be violently pushed back by Bangladesh to concentration camps in Myanmar where they will face starvation, disease and further cycles of violence.

Bangladesh has accepted the cheque from Myanmar which is determined to bounce very soon. We are yet to witness Bangladesh crying over its fatal mistake on Rohingya repatriation agreement, and Aung San Suu Kyi will be celebrating a good shoulder tap from the Military on her perfect escape again. Tragically, Rohingya will never get out of this man-made catastrophe; persecuted at home and pushed back by their neighbouring countries.
http://www.thestateless.com/2017/11/aung-san-suu-kyi-escapes-with-a-bouncing-cheque.html

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, November 27, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:37 PM, November 27, 2017
EDITORIAL
Arrangement for Rohingya repatriation
The devil is in the details

Bangladesh has always preferred problem-resolution with its neighbours through dialogue and negotiations. Thus the Arrangement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar, we feel, is a positive development of sorts.
But any optimism that we would like to hold will have to be guarded since like all other mutual understandings the devil is in the details. The success of the Arrangement depends on how effectively the repatriation is completed within a specific timeframe.

It is evident that Myanmar has wilted under international pressure which was being ratcheted up increasingly with newer revelations of Rohingya persecution every day. We are happy to note the support we have received from the West on the matter.

And we note the shift in India's stand on the issue from its open support to Myanmar initially. Though China is a good friend of both Bangladesh and Myanmar, it works with the latter on a different equation.
Thus the importance of China's role in the quick repatriation of the Rohingyas as well a permanent resolution of the problem, cannot be over emphasised.

Needless to say, given our past experience there is ground for pessimism regarding the final outcome of the arrangement. And it is for Myanmar to dispel all misgivings by taking actions on the ground that would attest to its positive attitude towards fulfilling the objectives of the understanding.

Thus, pending the finalisation of the terms of reference of the Joint Working Group, Myanmar must ensure that all violence on the Rohingyas cease forthwith. It must also create a conducive atmosphere for its people to return.

But there are several other issues that must also be thrashed out if the deal has to be followed through. For example, the burden of proof of identity of the forcibly displaced is on the victims. How does one expect people running for their lives to carry their ID?

They were living in an apartheid condition with no school to go to or business to run. We feel that the final decision, in cases of disputes regarding eligibility to return should not be left alone to only one of the two parties.

The Arrangement, we must emphasise, does not mean the end but only the beginning of the end.
Neither should it mean the end of engagement of the international community with the Rohingya issue.
The focus of the world must not be shifted, instead, international pressure on Myanmar for a permanent resolution of the problem must continue unabated.
http://www.thedailystar.net/editorial/arrangement-rohingya-repatriation-1496842

 

[Banglar Bir]

U.N. rights forum to hold special session on Myanmar Rohingya – U.N. sources
www.thestateless.com/2017/11/u-n-rights-forum-to-hold-special-session-on-myanmar-rohingya-u-n-sources.html

GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to hold a special session on killings, rapes and other crimes committed against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar that have driven more than 600,000 into Bangladesh since August, U.N. sources said on Monday.

“There will be a special session on December 5,” a senior United Nations source told Reuters.

Council spokesman Rolando Gomez could not confirm the date but said: “There are moves to convene a special session to address the human rights situation in the country.”

At least 16 of the 47 member states must request holding a special session of the Council, which are rare. Bangladesh and Muslim-majority countries were expected to back the call.

In March, the Council already set up a fact-finding team. The investigators reported after their first mission to Bangladesh last month that Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar had testified that a “consistent, methodical pattern of killings, torture, rape and arson is taking place”.

The latest Rohingya exodus from Rakhine state to Bangladesh’s southern tip began at the end of August, when Rohingya militants attacked security posts and the Myanmar army launched a counter-offensive.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein has described the army’s crackdown in Rakhine state as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The military has denied the accusations of murder, rape, torture and forced displacement.

Amnesty International and other activist groups, in an open letter sent last week to member states, said that a special session was “imperative to launch decisive action and ensure international scrutiny and monitoring of the situation”.

Pope Francis arrived in Myanmar on Monday on a diplomatically delicate visit for the leader of the Roman Catholic church to the majority-Buddhist country.
http://www.thestateless.com/2017/11...-session-on-myanmar-rohingya-u-n-sources.html

 

[Banglar Bir]

 

[Banglar Bir]

Is future of Rohingya crisis still up in the air?
In the wake of rigmaroles of parleys and some jibber-jabbers vis-à-vis wool-gathering, now and then cold silence as well as waiting with baited breath in pursuit of resolution to end genocide, bloodshed, rape and premeditated physical annihilation process of the Rohingya Muslim minority population of Rakhaine province of Myanmar [perpetrated by the Burmese armed forces in collusion with the Buddhist civilians] a ray of hope was visible.

But that ‘ray’ of hope of 26 November 2017 too is a ‘faint’ one now—-a will-o’-the-wisp or ignis fatuus. Why? Because the refugee influx still continues and the wretched Rohingyas are still fleeing [at least 3,000 refugees so far ] into Bangladesh even after an agreement was signed with Myanmar to repatriate hundreds of thousands of the Muslim minority displaced along the border, officials said on November 28, 2017, as reported by AFP.

When an apparently confident Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali said on 26 November 2017 that Dhaka protected its interest in signing the deal with Naypyidaw over the repatriation of Myanmar nationals and hoped to send them back home within “a reasonable time”, the people of Bangladesh—-now under terribly insufferable economic, ecological and social pressure more than flesh and blood can stand—-felt encouraged.

Mr Ali added, “Our interest has not been ignored or hampered at all…our main goal is to send back the Rohingya Muslims sheltered in Bangladesh and we have been able to make Myanmar agree to take back its nationals.”

Responding to questions from reporters, Mahmood said the criticism about not mentioning a specific timeframe in the agreement for completion of the repatriation was not right, because it can’t be done within a given timeframe. “Both the countries have agreed to start the repatriation process in two months and it will be completed within a reasonable time.”

When newsman asked whether “a reasonable time” is a vague term, the minister said it is obviously a vague term. “There is no benefit in mentioning a specific timeframe as well.” Therefore the exercise seems to be tantamount to an inconsequential exercise since Mr Ali himself admits that “a reasonable time” is obviously a vague term.

Having undergone immeasurable terrible odyssey of recurring persecution for decades, the Rohingya Muslims faced veritable apocalypse of brutal decimation on a catastrophic scale through wholesale slaughter, arson and mass rapes by the military that forced out the wretched humans whose ceaseless influx into Bangladesh drew extraordinarily sympathetic attention of the peoples of the world and the UN in particular.

Expressions of facts by Anwar Hossain, a Rohingya Muslim of Nein Chong village in Boothidong, Rakhine state—-as written by Kazi Imdad in channel_ionline.com dated 23 November 2017—-recounted how perfidious Suu Kyi betrayed their confidence in her.

There is an old injury mark below his left eye which he had sustained in 1990 when police had beaten him up because he was one of the hundreds of Rohingya Muslims who supported Suu Kyi’s poll symbol ‘Peacock’ in the parliament elections held that year and gave blood. Their Democracy and Human Rights Party supported the ‘Peacock’ symbol. Nurul Kabir said that prior to the 1990 polls his younger brother Anwarul Kabir was tortured to death by police in Akyab Jail. Alas, “after 25 years Suu Kyi betrayed with their blood.”

Aung San Suu Kyi was lambasted a couple of years ago for her insensitive heartless stance on the Rohingyas. Wrote Professor Penny Green, a Director of International State Crime Initiative, in the London-based Independent on 20 May 2015: Suu Kyi’s silence on the genocide of Rohingya Muslims is tantamount to complicity. There will be much more blood if the Burmese government is not stopped in its tracks. Indeed, that has happened in 1978, 1992, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and much more virulently in 2017.

Rohingya influx has been afflicting Bangladesh since long. In 1978 General Ne Win launched the Nagamin Dragon Operation and thousands of Rohingyas were killed indiscriminately for their allegiance to the Arakan National Liberation Party. However, President Ziaur Rahman sought intervention of the international community for a speedy resolution of the crisis, following which most of the Rohingya refugees were repatriated between 6 October and 24 December in 1979.

Professor Penny Green wrote, “In a genocide silence is complicity, and so it is with Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s desperate Rohingya community. The Burmese government’s ongoing persecution of the Rohingya has, in the last two years, reached a level so untenable that the Rohingya are faced with only two options, to remain and risk annihilation or flee.

The current exodus of those seeking asylum is just one manifestation of genocide. Genocide is a process built up over a period of years involving an escalation in the dehumanisation and persecution of the target group. Inside Burma, the Rohingya have been subjected to decades of stigmatization, violence and harassment.”

The AL government’s closest friend India—-not surprisingly—-is among the countries which did not support Dhaka, instead she abstained from voting on the UN resolution condemning the atrocities on the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. [Vide southasianmonitor. com/2017/11/18/india-lets-rohingya-muslims-cruelly-third-time-succession.]

Notwithstanding the fact that the government of Awami League (AL) chief and PM Sheikh Hasina has inked a “bilateral” deal with Naypyidaw over the repatriation of Myanmar nationals on 25 November 2017, her government in its wisdom had planned to reject just 7 days back a proposal by China recommending Bangladesh seek a “bilateral solution” to the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis with Myanmar. [Vide dhakatribune.com /bangladesh/ foreign-affairs/2017/11/18/ bangladesh-reject-china-rohingya-crisis/ ]

Sheikh Hasina and her Foreign Office mandarins might know better what is in store for us.
Meanwhile, the people can only hope against hope about future of the crisis still up in the air.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=4&date=0#Tid=15198

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, November 28, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:36 PM, November 28, 2017
ROHINGYA REPATRIATION AGREEMENT
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

Many of the houses in the Rohingya refugee camps are built on the sides of hills and small ravines, making them susceptible to landslides because of rain. Photo: Rashed Shumon
Maya Barolo-Rizvi
Amidst widespread international outcry and faced with the strong diplomatic stance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Myanmar government has been persuaded to repatriate the Rohingya refugees, according to an agreement reached between the two countries late last week.
Experts, however, are not optimistic, as the criteria for the repatriation of the Rohingyas is yet to be worked out by the Joint Working Group. The United Nations is not directly involved and the agreement does not have the guarantee of the international community.

If the Rohingyas are able to return to their homes with an agreed process that would lead to their full citizenship, the world can breathe a sigh of relief and move on. Bangladesh will have shown its humanitarian commitment and acted as a leader on the global stage, showcasing our values of plurality, tolerance and openness.

However, as the experience of the repatriation of refugees across the globe has shown, the process is often uncertain and slow. The Rohingyas who came to Bangladesh in 1992 are yet to be repatriated. In the case that the Rohingya repatriation is not as speedy as one might wish, we must begin to expand the scope of relief efforts beyond the immediate term.

There is only six months to go till the next monsoon season, when many of the houses in the Rohingya refugee camp—built on the sides of hills and small ravines—will slide away because of rain. Before that, winter will come and with already existing fuel shortages, families will struggle to stay warm. Cyclone season will follow, and with it will come waterborne diseases and the risk of pandemics.

Camp administrators and relief agencies are struggling to meet the immediate needs of the refugees and it is only natural that food, shelter, sanitation, health and security are the first priorities. There are over 200,000 school-age children and it is imperative that going forward relief efforts include arrangements for the provision of education.

It is understandable that the government has shied away from looking beyond providing immediate humanitarian relief for fear that it might be misconstrued in Myanmar as a signal that Bangladesh is prepared to keep the Rohingya for the long haul. For that reason, perhaps formal education does not feature in the discourse.

Moreover, given the recent diplomatic agreement, investing in the development of the refugees may on the surface seem to be a waste, if the Rohingyas are on the verge of returning home. If that turns out to be the case, all we would have lost is some effort, time and money, which is a far better proposition than looking back in retrospect—if the process takes longer than expected—regretting that we could have and should have invested in sustainable developmental opportunities.

A more considered response would be to see this humanitarian disaster also as a developmental opportunity. The international community has the chance to invest in the future of a people that have been historically excluded and marginalised. Along with the children's future, aid agencies must also consider the situation of the thousands of women whose husbands have been killed, leaving them as the primary breadwinners of the family.

When they return to Myanmar, these women will be the heads of their households but are completely unequipped for the task. Investing in skills development and vocational training with which they can support their families will not only help the Rohingya women in the short-run but will be a tool for development within their community and eventually in the Rakhine state.

Development initiatives however must go beyond the camps and into the surrounding areas. The local community in Cox's Bazar has been remarkably hospitable; ordinary people have demonstrated extraordinary charitable instincts as well as an impressive ability to adapt to a huge influx of outsiders. But it has not come without its challenges.

Given the huge demographic shift—estimates say that for every 10 people, there are now seven refugees to three Bangladeshis—the cost of living has increased several folds and there is often a scarcity of consumer goods in the market. Both the civil administration and aid agencies have recognised the importance of ensuring that the needs of the local population are not neglected.

Of course, fear remains that the refugees may not want to return to Myanmar. So long as there is lack of safety, it is neither likely that they will return nor should we force them to. But experience shows that when conditions improve and safety returns, no one wants to live in a foreign land, especially under such dire conditions.

In 1971, following the end of the Liberation War, 10 million Bangladeshis returned in days, rather than weeks, and without any assistance nearly everyone found his or her own way home. We can be sure that once the Myanmar government creates the necessary conditions in the Rakhine state, the Rohingya will return home.

The Rohingya influx is not the result of a sudden policy change of the Myanmar government. Nor is it the result of the supposed ARSA attacks on Myanmar security forces, which took place after the Rohingya exodus began. The eviction was a systematic, brutal and deliberate attempt to rid Myanmar of an unwanted ethnic group.

As the US recently acknowledged, it was ethnic cleansing—and nothing short of a war crime. If the world community fails to respond adequately to this situation, minorities in every plural society in the world will be left at the mercy of majority communities. The National Human Rights Commission should use the interim period to document and record the human rights violations and prepare individual case histories. If in the future the international community wants to convene a war crimes tribunal to bring the perpetrators of the ethnic cleansing to trial, this documentation will be necessary.

Bangladesh's own experience as refugees and of genocide in 1971 has perhaps sensitised us to the needs of the Rohingyas. The PM's response to the Rohingya refugee crisis showed remarkable compassion as well as political bravery.

No less worthy of praise is the civil administration and the tireless, dedicated effort of the international agencies and non-governmental organisations, which have worked together to avert what could have been one of the 21st century's greatest humanitarian disasters. And the exceptional hospitality of the local Cox's Bazar community has been an inspiration to the world.

The recent agreement between Dhaka and Naypyidaw is a success. We should all be optimistic about the bilateral agreement but we should not lose sight of the reality on the ground. The repatriation of refugees is a long and tedious process and much will need to be done before the Rakhine state is safe for the Rohingyas to return.

There is still a chance that the overwhelming international reaction and Aung San Suu Kyi's meteoric fall from grace may stir the Myanmar government into action, but we cannot afford to abandon our efforts now and, in fact, must begin to plan for the medium, if not long-term.
Maya Barolo-Rizvi is the country director of Humane Society Int
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/hope-the-best-prepare-the-worst-1497301

 

[Banglar Bir]

UNHRC to hold special session on Rohingya issue
Diplomatic Correspondent | Published: 00:22, Dec 04,2017 | Updated: 00:24, Dec 04,2017
The United Nations Human Rights Council is scheduled for Tuesday to hold a special session in Geneva on the human rights situation of the ethnic minority Rohingya Muslim population and other minorities in the Rakhine State of Myanmar.

The special session is being convened following an official request by Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, supported by 73 UN member states, according to a release.
This will be the 27th special session of the council.

In order for a special session to be convened, the support of one-third of the 47 members of the council – 16 or more – is required.

Thirty-three member states of the council supported holding of the special session. The countries are: Albania, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Togo, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the United States of America.
Forty observer countries of the UNHRC also supported holding of the special session.

The countries are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey and State of Palestine.

Over 6,24,000 Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, entered Bangladesh, fleeing unbridled murder, arson and rape during ‘security operations’ by Myanmar military in Rakhine, what the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing, between August 25 and November 26.

The ongoing Rohingya influx took the total number of undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees in Bangladesh to over 10,44,000 till Sunday, according to estimates by UN agencies.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/29689/unhrc-to-hold-special-session-on-rohingya-issue