Two sides hopeful despite challenges
Bangladesh and Myanmar have expressed their hope to start the process of repatriation of Rohingya refugees next month, following the ongoing bilateral talks between the two neighbours.
A joint working group (JWG) has been formed and it is hoped that the first meeting of the JWG will be held next month, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam told the agency.
"We're confident and we're hopeful. We're bilaterally engaged with Myanmar," he said describing the international support that Bangladesh gained on the issue.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said a list of 100,000 Rohingyas have been handed over to Myanmar as the stepping stone of the repatriation process.
Myanmar will start repatriating those who fled from Northern Rakhine to Bangladesh from January 22, media reported quoting its Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye.
The minister said a group of 450 Hindu refugees will be taken back across the border on January 22 as the first step in the repatriation process.
A refugee camp has been set up at Taungpyoleiwei in northwestern Rakhine State for those returning overland from Bangladesh, while a second camp has been erected in Ngakhuya, Maungdaw Township, for those returning by sea or waterways.
India recently announced a development assistance of $25 million for Myanmar's Rakhine State.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has finalised a draft on the arrangement to begin a fast and effective repatriation process of Rohingyas living in Cox's Bazar, said an official.
Around 1 million Rohingyas are now living in Bangladesh, including 655000 new arrivals since August 25, officials said.
The arrangement will have the detail guideline for repatriation and rehabilitation of Rohingyas who fled Myanmar and took shelter in Bangladesh amid persecution which has been termed as 'classic example of ethnic cleansing' by many countries and rights bodies worldwide.
As per the agreement signed on November 23, Myanmar agreed to take necessary steps to stop Rohingyas from fleeing to Bangladesh, to restore normalcy in Rakhine and encourage those who had left to return voluntarily and safely to their own homeland.
Under the agreement, Myanmar will take back those who entered Bangladesh after October 9 last year and August 25 this year.
The repatriation of those who took shelter in Bangladesh before October 9 last year would also be considered separately after this process ends, the minister told journalists.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman recently told the Security Council that the origins and solutions to the Rohingya crisis rest in Myanmar.
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