Teknaf, Aug 26 (V7N) — Rohingya refugees in camps in Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar have called for a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar, with guarantees of citizenship, security, fundamental rights, freedom of movement and livelihood opportunities.
The demand was made at rallies held in the Rohingya camps on Tuesday (Aug 25) to mark Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. The main rally was organised by the United Council of Rohingya (UCR), a civil society organisation, at the football ground of Camp 4 Extension in Ukhia. Rohingya refugees from various camps in Ukhia and Teknaf took part in the gathering.
The rally commemorated those killed during the violence in 2017, while Rohingya leaders highlighted the community’s continuing humanitarian crisis, the need for justice and accountability, and the importance of creating conditions conducive to safe and sustainable repatriation.
Rohingya speakers said that nine years after the violence of 2017, the wounds suffered by the community had yet to heal. The loss of relatives, homes and ancestral land, combined with years of uncertainty as refugees, had made their lives increasingly difficult.
Expressing gratitude to Bangladesh for providing shelter and humanitarian assistance, they said they wanted to return to their homeland in Myanmar as soon as conditions permitted.
Rohingya rights activist Mohammad Rafique said the community had spent nine years living as refugees. He urged the international community to give greater attention to the Rohingya crisis, saying their foremost aspiration was to return to their homeland in Arakan.
Mohammad Syed Ullah, a member of the UCR Presidential Panel, said Bangladesh had been providing shelter and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas for many years. However, he said, a return to a normal and dignified life ultimately required their return to their own country.
“Repatriation does not simply mean sending Rohingyas across the border into Myanmar,” he said. “Their security, citizenship, fundamental rights, freedom of movement and livelihood opportunities must be guaranteed after their return. The process must also be voluntary, safe and dignified.”
UCR leader Master Mohammad Shoaib addressed the gathering in the Burmese language and called for stronger and more effective international efforts to create conditions that would allow Rohingyas to return safely to their homeland.
At one point during the rally, participants chanted slogans in the Rohingya language for about 10 minutes. One of the slogans, “Sesh hot ekkan firat chai Arakan”, expressed their central demand to return to Arakan.
According to the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, permission was granted for the gathering, as in previous years, to mark Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. Members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) were deployed to maintain security and law and order in the camps during the event.
Rohingya leaders stressed that repatriation would not be sustainable unless security, citizenship and fundamental rights were guaranteed. They called on the international community to take effective steps to create an environment in Myanmar where Rohingyas can return safely, voluntarily and with dignity.
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