Myanmar team in Cox's Bazar to build trust
A Myanmar delegation today visited Cox's Bazar to discuss Rohingya repatriation with the Bangladesh authorities and hold talks with the refugees.
The delegation held meetings with Bangladeshi officials and Rohingyas at two rest houses in Teknaf, reports our Cox's Bazar staff correspondent.
The visit took place as part of the process of building trust among the Rohingyas about their repatriation and verification, said Mia Md Mainul Kabir, director general of the Myanmar wing at the foreign ministry.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, he said repatriation would take time. "We are trying to ensure voluntary repatriation of Rohingyas."
Md Mizanur Rahman, refugee, relief and repatriation commissioner (RRRC), said the meetings have been arranged to resolve the crisis and dispel the distrust between the Myanmar authorities and the Rohingyas.
The 36-member Myanmar delegation, led by Social Welfare Minister of Rakhine State Saw Naing, had talks with the heads of 100 Rohingya families, he said.
They answered the queries of the Rohingyas and informed them about the arrangements in Myanmar.
The Myanmar team also talked about Rohingya's citizenship and voting rights, the RRRC said.
Rohingyas demanded repatriation to their ancestral land.
"Now our main goal is to start a dignified and sustainable repatriation," Mizanur said.
The visiting team, which left for Myanmar yesterday afternoon, is expected to visit Teknaf again today, said Shamsud Douza, the additional refugee, relief, and repatriation commissioner.
This is the third Myanmar delegation to have visited Bangladesh to discuss Rohingya repatriation.
Syed Alam, a Rohingya who participated in a meeting today, said Myanmar officials were visiting them time and again, but they were not repatriating them.
Anowara Begum, a Rohingya from Jadimora camp, said Myanmar officials told them that they would take 3,000 Rohingyas to 20 villages.
"So it is clear that we will not be repatriated to our ancestral villages. We won't move from one camp in Bangladesh to another one in our homeland," she added.
Bangladesh is now sheltering around one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled a violent Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine in 2017.
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