Rohingya Repatriation: Tripartite Talks to Resume Soon

Despite the fact that negotiations with Myanmar have been stalled for a long time as a result of the Covid incident and subsequent military coup in Myanmar, efforts are underway to restart tripartite discussion on Rohingya repatriation between Bangladesh, China and Myanmar, reports UNB.

Considering the repatriation that took place in 1978 and 1992 (under military government), Bangladesh remains "hopeful" about the repatriation of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State despite the fact that a military government is in place, officials said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Friday evening, spoke by phone with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen, who "assured us of taking an initiative" to start tripartite talks for the repatriation of Rohingyas.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China's Foreign Minister reaffirmed his government's commitment to the repatriation of Rohingyas.

The most recent tripartite meeting took place in January of this year, at which Bangladesh pressed Myanmar to provide a favorable climate for repatriation, including a quick verification process.

Bangladesh has handed over a list of 840,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification, but the Myanmar side's verification procedure was delayed, according to Dhaka.

The talks on Rohingya repatriation were put on hold when the military retook command and established a year-long state of emergency. It seized control on February 1 following a general election which Aung Aung Suu Kyi's NLD party won by a landslide.

"History tells us that Myanmar took back its citizens with dignity based on voluntary decisions in 1978 and 1992. We're hopeful that Rohingyas will go back to Myanmar voluntarily with dignity," Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen told UNB.

Myanmar had previously been under military authority, he added, but Rohingyas were tortured during Aung Sung Suu Kyi's democratic leadership.

Dr. Momen added that following Myanmar's military takeover, Bangladesh focused on three issues: Bangladesh wants democracy to flourish everywhere, peace rather than violence, and Bangladesh expects Myanmar to return its citizens on a priority basis.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam said just before the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan (JRP) that Bangladesh has been able to establish two things in the JRP: focus on Rohingya repatriation as a solution and making sure that Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char is a temporary arrangement until the repatriation takes place.

Earlier attempts to repatriate Rohingyas failed twice, in November 2018 and August 2019, due to the Rohingyas' lack of faith in Myanmar's administration.

Over 1.1 million Rohingyas presently live in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char districts.