DHAKA – Bangladesh said yesterday that it strongly opposes a proposal by the World Bank to integrate the 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims currently seeking refuge in the country.
Anadolu Agency reported the country’s government fears that such a policy would directly affect the main focus – repatriation.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen was quoted as saying that the World Bank has prepared a long-term integration programme for 16 countries hosting refugees, which covers matters such as welfare, equal employment and better communication between refugee and host communities.
“But we are not included in the definition of what the World Bank has meant. Rohingya are not refugees in our definition. Rather, they are persecuted and displaced people whom we extended temporary shelter here (in Bangladesh),” he said.
“Our priority issue is they should go back to their own land (in Myanmar),” he emphasised while speaking to reporters in the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh only recently came to know about the World Bank report on integrating refugees into their host countries from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), he said.
Momen said the report “suggests extending Rohingya the right to own land, property, businesses, voting and mobility rights, as well as equal rights in employment… and if we agree with the proposal, then it will provide financial support to this effect from a US$2 billion (RM8.45 billion) World Bank fund.”
“We strongly oppose and completely reject the World Bank report, as it contradicts our philosophy on Rohingya. We believe the only way out for the welfare of the Rohingya lies in repatriation,” he said.
Bangladesh will revise the proposal and scrap those provisions, as it contradicts its policy, the top diplomat said, adding there will be some adjustments to the World Bank’s proposal and a memorandum of understanding will be signed if the bank agrees with the revised proposal.
He urged the World Bank and UN agencies to instead work on implementing the repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar.
Bangladesh is currently home to nearly 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims, who have been historically persecuted by Myanmar authorities, with the situation worsening considerably in 2017.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August four years ago.
Since August 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, while more than 34,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires and over 114,000 others were beaten, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency. – Bernama, August 3, 2021
