Dhaka for sustainable Rohingya repatriation

Bangladesh proposed a plan to Myanmar for sustainable repatriation of nearly 4 lakh Myanmar nationals staying here as well as improving bilateral relations between the two next-door neighbours.
The plan was handed over to Myanmar embassy in Dhaka in May and no reply from Myanmar authorities was received till Thursday, officials said. 
The two sides might discuss the matter in a meeting in Dhaka on Monday between a top advisor to the Myanmar government and the foreign minister of Bangladesh. 
Myanmar national security advisor Thaung Tun is set to arrive in Dhaka this afternoon and will hold a meeting with foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali on Monday, officials said. 
Aung San Suu Kyi-led government created the new national security advisor position, with the status of a union minister, in January to advise the president and the government on internal and external threats as its armed forces were engaged in security operations in western Rakhine state as well as north and east zones of the country. 
Myanmar authorities were seeking Bangladesh’s cooperation to contain terrorism and violent extremism along the border, officials said. 
Bangladesh has been providing consistent security support to Myanmar even long before October 9 encounter along the border, they said. 
At least 74,000 minority Muslims, out of 92,000, who fled indiscriminate killing, rape, arson and violence by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine state, entered Bangladesh since October 9, 2016, according to UNHCR estimates.
Some 3 lakh Myanmar nationals have been living in a refugee-like-situation in makeshift shelters in Cox’s Bazar for years while 33,148 registered refugees from Myanmar have been living in registered camps for several years in the bordering districts.
Foreign minister AH Mahood said that Myanmar nationals were creating environmental hazards and social trouble in the bordering localities. 
In return for providing security support, officials said, Bangladesh might request Myanmar to start sustainable repatriation of its nationals, widely known as Rohingyas, from Bangladesh by creating a proper environment that would enable them to return to their ancestral homes in Rakhine state. 
Bilateral relations and trade between the two neighbours have not been stable for decades despite not having any dispute over land and maritime boundaries. Both the countries had accepted the verdict of an international tribunal in settling maritime borders. 
‘Myanmar is an important neighbour,’ Bangladesh ambassador in Yangon Sufiur Rahman told New Age, ‘we want stable, friendly relations with the country’. 
There ‘is huge potential’ in expanding cooperation in many sectors and bilateral trade, he said. 
Attaining normal diplomatic relations with Myanmar for establishing sectoral engagements, including on connectivity, energy cooperation and trade, is also in Bangladesh’s priorities, officials said. 
Thaung Tun, a retired career diplomat, would also call on prime minister Sheikh Hasina before his departure the next day.
Officials were, however, not sure if he would carry any message for Bangladesh authorities during this visit. 
He would be the second top Myanmar official visiting Dhaka in six months. 
In January, the Myanmar government sent a special envoy, Kyaw Tin, a deputy minister for foreign affairs, with no clear mandate to discuss about repatriation of thousands of Myanmar nationals staying in Bangladesh, officials said. Tin declined to put the formal discussions between the two sides on record or to make a joint statement about his visit.
Myanmar government did not keep its commitment regarding repatriation of over 9,000 refugees from Bangladesh in 2014. 
Bangladesh government has been asking for addressing the root causes of the crisis so that a congenial atmosphere could be created for the minority Muslims of Myanmar to return to their homes in Rakhine state.

News Courtesy: www.newaqgebd.net