Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed to resolve the Rohingya crisis in the foreseeable future. Bangladesh’s initiative is understandable but Myanmar has given in undoubtedly under international pressure. Dhaka has declared that the process of returning hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas within two years is to commence immediately. Rohingyas had fled Myanmar following their insurgence attacking security posts in August last year. It triggered a military response which the UN denounced as ethnic cleansing. Some NGOs are sceptical about the repatriation plan. They are not convinced that questions of the safety, livelihoods and permanent resettlement of the refugees have been suitably addressed. Bangladesh says that each Rohingya family will be considered to be a unit. Myanmar will provide temporary shelter for those returning before houses are rebuilt for them. Meanwhile transit camps will be set up for them. Myanmar has reiterated its commitment to stop the exodus of Myanmar residents to Bangladesh. The official statement especially called for repatriation of orphans and ‘children born out of unwarranted incidence.’ It is an admission of the rape of Rohingyan woman by Myanmari security forces which is always a collateral damage of action taken by security personnel everywhere.
The talks did not take into account the fears and concerns of the refugees themselves. They are treated as an inert mass of people who will have to go where and when they are told, said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. According to him, the discussions ignored the deprivation of Rohingyas of their rights as they are held in indefinite detention. It may be pointed out that the so-called advocate of human rights Aun Sang Suu Kyi had taken an anti-Rohingya attitude for which she was attacked by students of her Oxford College. Her change of tune now may be nothing but political opportunism.