Rohingyas who fled a pogrom in Myanmar two years ago said that if they get citizenship of Burma then they will go back.
The Rohingyas living on the Konarpara no-man’s land said this while talking to a Chinese team of representatives on Sunday (Sept 15).
While several attempts were taken to repatriate, the Rohingyas have repeatedly underlined their lack of trust on the Myanmar government.
Rohingya leader Dil Mohamamd, said: “We cannot trust the government of Myanmar; they broke their promises several times in the past. So, we can only go back when we get assurance of citizenship.”
Dil Mohammad said that the belief that ARSA and NGO workers are dissuading Rohingyas to return is concocted and disseminated by Myanmar.
As per UNHCR, there are around 1,300 Rohingya families near the No-man’s land.
They do not get many of the facilities available at the camps in Ukhia and Teknaf. However, under the aegis of the World Food Programme, WFP, International Committee of Red Cross is providing relief twice a month to the no-man’s land.
On Aug 25, following attacks on Myanmar security posts, the Myanmar army began a crackdown which triggered a mass exodus of Rohingyas to Bangladesh.
More than 1.1 million Rohingyas are now residing at Ukhia camp and most are women and children. On Nov 23, 2017, Bangladesh signed an agreement with Myanmar followed by a Physical Arrangement deal signed on Jan 16, 2018.
Despite the agreements, not a single Rohingya went back to Myanmar. The first team was supposed to go back on Nov 15, 2018 and then Aug 22, 2019 was fixed for the repatriation of 450 persons but since the Rohingyas added several conditions, the repatriation never took place.