WEB DESK
Bangladesh wants to send up to 100,000 Rohingya back to Myanmar in the first batch of repatriations of Muslim refugees who fled ethnic violence this year. Road transport minister and deputy leader of the ruling Awami League, Obaidul Quader said the repatriations could start in late January under an accord between the two governments.
Quader said repatriations would start as soon as a working group of officials from the two countries finalise a list of names. He said based on the decision of the joint working group, the first list of 100,000 Rohingya will be sent to the Myanmar government today for their safe and honourable return.
The next meeting of the working group, which will be held in Myanmar, will decide how the repatriation process begins, Quader added. More than 655,000 Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine state have sought refuge in Bangladesh since a military crackdown in late August.
That added to more than 300,000 in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing earlier violence in the Buddhist majority state. The two governments signed an agreement in November allowing for repatriations from January 23. Many aid groups and diplomats doubt that fearful Rohingya will agree to return.
