Bangladesh wants to finalize the repatriation of all the remaining Myanmar refugees to their traditional homeland as soon as possible, and has sought UNHCR assistance in this long-standing issue. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, a Muslim ethnic minority in neighboring Myanmar, crossed the border in waves to take refuge in Bangladesh as the military junta there launched massive crackdowns on them in the 1970s and 1990s to divert international focus from its internal troubles. Over the years, Bangladesh, with the help of the UNHCR, has sent many back to their homeland in Myanmar's Northern Rakhine State near the border. But, Bangladesh says, the majority have re-intruded due to oppression and bad governance in the isolated South east Asian nation. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, in a statement Sunday, said around 400,000 illegal Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have been causing law and order to slide and much environmental damage. The Foreign Ministry statement was released after a meeting between Dipu Moni and Raymond Hall, regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Both Dipu Moni and Hall agreed that Myanmar must improve its internal environment to stop the influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh and other neighboring countries. The foreign minister also expressed the hope that the authorities in former Burma would take the refugees back considering its relations with Bangladesh. Some 28,000 registered refugees were living in two camps, and nearly 400,000 unregistered refugees living outside the camps are a heavy burden on Bangladesh economically, socially, environmentally and also in terms of law and order issues. Bangladesh said that despite severe resource constraints, it did a good job in providing basic needs to the refugees for the last three decades. The continuous flow of illegal entrants was causing huge damage to the country's scarce land, forest and other resources. Deterioration of law and order situation has also been a major concern in Cox's Bazar district due to illegal activities carried out by these illegal entrants. Both Dipu Moni and the UNHCR representative agreed that it was necessary to create favorable conditions within Myanmar for repatriation of the refugees. In a diplomatic letter last year, Myanmar denied that the refugees in Bangladesh were their citizens. Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzak, said the only permanent solution for the Rohingya refugees lies in rehabilitating them in their own country. “To this end, the government was taking initiatives to come to a solution through bilateral talks. Bangladesh has sheltered many of the refugees, considering their plight on humane grounds, but unregistered Rohingyas are spreading across the country,” he stated. He said the refugees believe they can get aid from international agencies if they come to Bangladesh, as well as settle permanently. The UNHCR representative said Rohingyas are deprived of citizen rights in their own country. They cannot move beyond their own village for restrictions on their movement, and must even take permission from their government to get married. They come to Bangladesh to be spared religious and ethnic persecution and oppression. The government of Myanmar is now permitting the UNHCR to work there and it has taken various initiatives in improving the areas where Rohingyas live. Hall said that Bangladesh should attempt to register all Rohingyas refugees in and out of camps, otherwise Myanmar could refuse to take back all of its nationals once a solution is reached. Myanmar is an immediate neighboring country and politically of high importance for Bangladesh. She said Bangladesh has economic and commercial cooperation with Myanmar.
