China pledges help in Rohingya return

China yesterday assured Bangladesh of full support for expediting the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar after Dhaka sought Beijing's help to this end.

The assurance came during bilateral talks between Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing where Mahmood briefed the Chinese side on the status of the 1.1 million Rohingyas, who have taken shelter in Bangladesh.

"The displaced Rohingyas are so traumatised that they want solid security guarantee for their return. They want to return to their original villages and not to any camps; they must be accorded opportunities to earn their livelihood," said Mahmood, now on a three-day China visit.

Mahmood sought China's active support for expediting the repatriation process by encouraging Myanmar to create a conducive environment in Rakhine State for the safe return and resettlement of the Rohingyas, according to a foreign ministry press release.

Wang Yi pledged China's full support for early repatriation of the refugees to Rakhine and improve environment there for their resettlement by lending help to construct houses and create economic opportunities.

Since August 25 last year, more than 700,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh from Rakhine to escape a brutal military crackdown. The United Nations, the US and others have termed the atrocities “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

Diplomatic sources said Wang Yi invited Mahmood and Myanmar's Union Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe to visit Beijing at the same time apparently to mediate talks over the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Yesterday, Wang Yi arranged a meeting between Mahmood and Tint Swe -- both of whom arrived in the Chinese capital on Thursday.

Bangladesh foreign ministry officials declined to comment whether it was a coincidence that the two ministers flew to Beijing the same day.

The ministry's press release said, “The Chinese foreign minister invited Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali to an informal meeting where Kyaw Tint Swe, union minister of the State Counsellor's Office of Myanmar, who is now on a trip to China,  joined. They exchanged views and shared ideas on early repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar.”

The ministry didn't elaborate on the agenda for the meeting with the Myanmar minister or its outcome.

The diplomatic circle in Dhaka considers Mahmood's visit to China highly significant as it is taking place just ahead of Bangladesh visits by top officials of the UN and World Bank.

WB Group President Jim Yong Kim arrives in Dhaka today, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will fly in tomorrow to hold discussions on the Rohingya crisis and visit the refugee camps.

According to a Reuters report, Wang Yi told Mahmood that China believes Myanmar is now ready to take back the Rohingyas.

The Chinese foreign minister said he had met Kyaw Tint Swe in Beijing on Thursday, and heard from him about how Myanmar was trying to resolve the repatriation issue.

“I strongly felt that the Myanmar side has already prepared to receive these people who have entered Bangladesh to take refuge,” Wang Yi said, speaking to reporters with Mahmood at his side.

“We really hope to see that the return process, especially the first batch of returnees, can be realised as quickly as possible.”

China will provide help and play a constructive role. It has already provided prefabricated houses to Myanmar for those who return, and for Bangladesh, it has provided tents and other humanitarian supplies, he added.

“We would like to see and believe that with the hard work of Bangladesh and Myanmar, this repatriation process can begin as soon as possible.”

The Chinese minister also said his country will offer humanitarian assistance to Bangladesh to help shelter and feed the Rohingya refugees, adds an AP report.

"We will contribute our efforts [to help with offering more humanitarian aids] in line with Bangladesh's needs," he added.

China maintains close ties to Myanmar's powerful military and has refused to join international condemnation of the campaign of organised violence. The Myanmar foreign ministry previously described the issue as an internal affair containing "complicated historical, national and religious factors."

Myanmar has denied Rohingyas citizenship and other rights, and considers them immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

Yesterday, the Bangladesh and Chinese sides also reviewed the progress in the implementation of decisions of the Joint Statement issued during Chinese President Xi Jinping's historic visit to Bangladesh in 2016.

They also discussed the progress in execution of the deals on different projects, which were signed during Xi Jinping's visit.

Mahmood called on Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan and briefed him on Bangladesh's achievements, especially in socio-economic areas.