Work for early repatriation of Rohingya refugees

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni laid emphasis on early repatriation of the Myanmar refugees to their homeland and asked UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to work more intensely inside Myanmar to create conditions conducive to their return.
She said Myanmar has agreed to take back the refugees from the list cleared by them and put emphasis on resuming the repatriation process as early as possible.
The minister said this when newly appointed UNHCR Representative to Bangladesh Steven Craig Sanders presented his letter of credence to her at her office yesterday.
She also asked the representative to work more intensely inside Myanmar to create conditions conducive to return of the Myanmar refugees through, for example, accelerating socio-economic development process of the Rakhine State of Myanmar as well as building institutions such as schools and hospitals.
Dipu reiterated her country's stance on the issue of the refugees that full repatriation of the refugees, now living in two camps in Nayapara and Kutupalong, remained the only viable solution to this protracted problem. She ruled out any other option in this connection.
Sanders agreed with the foreign minister's assessment of the situation and said it was also the motive of UNHCR to ensure repatriation of all the refugees to Myanmar as soon as possible.
He referred to the enhanced UNHCR activities inside Myanmar in ensuring socio-economic development of Rakhine State with a view to encouraging Myanmar refugees return to their own country.
Dipu mentioned that some recent reports in a section of international media regarding undocumented Myanmar nationals living in Bangladesh have proved to be baseless and malicious.
Such unhelpful activities must be stopped in the interests of all, she added.
Welcoming the new UNHCR envoy, she assured him of all cooperation of the government while discharging his mandated tasks in the country.
Sanders hoped that UNHCR would continue to receive the high level of cooperation from the government in Dhaka.