Myanmar Rejects Chinese Offer to Facilitate Rohingyas to Visit in Arakan

The new Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming, has proposed to facilitate a visit by a group of Rohingya shelters to Myanmar’s Arakan state to check the situation there, during talks with Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar last month on 16^th September and formally discussed during a meeting last week between China, Bangladesh and Myanmar delegates on the side-lines of the 74^th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Myanmar has rejected Chinese proposal to facilitate a visit by Rohingya to Arakan state to inspect the situation there from the camps in Bangladesh, a senior Myanmar foreign ministry official confirmed, RFA reported.

Director general of the political affairs department at Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aung Ko, told RFA that his government had never agreed to the offer and was waiting for Bangladesh to “allow” the refugees to return to the border, whereupon they would be accepted following individual assessments.

“We will stick to the bilateral agreement to accept returning refugees after they are assessed. We can’t do anything, as the other side hasn’t allowed the refugees to return yet. We have made all the necessary preparations for repatriation, but it will work only if we have the cooperation from the other side. The conditions are the same as before,” he said.

A day earlier, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen told reporters on Wednesday in Dhaka that Naypyidaw did not accept the suggestion put forward during the tripartite meeting between Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China held in New York recently on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

“You know the proposal we put forward to Myanmar. China has also asked Myanmar to take a faction of Rohingyas to Rakhine for them to see the good works done for their return,” Dr Momen said.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also said, he acknowledged that the progress has not yet been visible as not a single Rohingya could be repatriated. It is the responsibility of Myanmar to create conducive environment for the return of the Rohingya.

A genocide survivor form Bangladesh’s camp told that it’s impossible for them to go back to killing filed Arakan again until their key demands are met.

“Burma is telling the world is that they are trying their best to make the situation safe for Rohingya so that we can return to our home. But the reality is Myanmar has done nothing to help us return voluntarily and has been rejecting other proposals,” he added.

Recently the UNFFM reported that the remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Arakan are at high risk of genocide.

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