Bangladesh for early start to Rohingya repatriation

Bangladesh has pressed Myanmar on early start of physical repatriation of the Rohingya refugees during a top bilateral meeting.

Myanmar was also urged to remove barriers preventing commencement of the repatriation at the meeting of the joint working group on Rohingya repatriation.

The fourth meeting of the joint working group was held in Nay Pyi Taw today where these issues were discussed, said a press release of the foreign ministry.

Discussions were held on all issues related to safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar residents to their homeland.

Bangladesh emphasised on concrete steps for creating conducive environment in Rakhine and particularly on removing legal and administrative barriers to ensure such environment.

Bangladesh called to ensure basic rights of the returnees including freedom of movement, guaranteeing their safety and security, and positive steps towards a well-defined time-bound pathway to citizenship that would encourage the Myanmar residents to return voluntarily.

Referring to dispute on eligibility of more than two thousand prospective returnees from the first batch of verification, Bangladesh proposed to host the first meeting of the dispute settlement mechanism soon to which Myanmar agreed, the release said.

Bangladesh highlighted the need for deeper engagement between Myanmar authorities and prospective returnees with a view to convincing and motivating them.

Foreign Secretary (Asia and Pacific)Mahbub Uz Zaman led the Bangladesh side during the talks. The Myanmar side was led by its foreign Secretary U Myint Thu.