Myanmar delegation visits 180 Rohingya families; discusses which village each will be returned to
It is set to return again tomorrow to continue the unfinished talks with Rohingyas
The 32-member delegation from Myanmar, which arrived on Tuesday, could not finish discussions with 180 Rohingya family heads throughout the day.
The delegation left for Myanmar again at 4:00pm.
It is set to return again tomorrow to continue the unfinished talks with Rohingyas.
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Mainul Kabir, director general of the Myanmar wing of the foreign ministry, told reporters in a briefing that they were working on voluntary and sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh.
The government has always emphasised on a permanent solution to the Rohingya situation.
He said repatriation was a continuous process and various initiatives have been undertaken so that Rohingyas can return to Myanmar voluntarily.
Mainul said the Myanmar delegation had arrived twice earlier this year to hold talks with Rohingya representatives.
They had discussed the measures taken in Myanmar for the Rohingyas.
"Even today they have specified who will go to which village," he said.
However, when the Rohingyas will return to their homeland will depend on the situation, he said.
"The Rohingyas should be able to live there permanently and the repatriation should be sustainable and permanent; Efforts are being made to negotiate with Myanmar regarding that."
He also said that efforts are being made to negotiate with Myanmar to remove doubts and mistrust of the Rohingyas regarding repatriation.
At 8:30 am on Tuesday morning, the delegation of the Myanmar Immigration Department arrived at Jaliyapara of Naf River in Teknaf Municipality.
The delegation discussed the repatriation with the Rohingyas till 4:00pm.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Mizanur Rahman said the Myanmar delegation will come to Teknaf to discuss with the Rohingyas on Wednesday.
This discussion is going on mainly to obtain the consent of the Rohingyas for repatriation, he said.
Some of the Rohingya representatives who came for the discussion said that they will return to their homeland if they are given their land and citizenship through this discussion, Mizanur said.
More than 1.2 million Rohingyas are sheltering in 33 camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. But Myanmar has not taken back a single Rohingya in the last six years.
