The government is not saying anything definite about the repatriation of Rohingyas from Aug 22.

At an event on Rohingyas, arranged by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies, held on Sunday (Aug 18), Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, said: “Repatriation may start any moment; lot of things are happening behind the curtain though all efforts may not be successful in the end.”

“In the next few weeks we shall encourage the Rohingyas to go back, if they don’t then they will lose all their rights,” he added.

Saying that repatriation of Rohingyas is a priority issue for Bangladesh, he observed: “Many people mistake the issue as a crisis between Bangladesh and Myanmar. That is not the case at all; this is a complication between the state of Myanmar and her people.”

Former chairman of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission, Dr Mizanur Rahman, says: “The Rohingya issue has a three layer solution: one, repatriation, two, rehabilitation and three, re-integration.”

Saying that Bangladesh will not assimilate the Rohingyas, he added: “Bangladesh is a populous country and there is no chance to have the Rohingyas integrated with the locals.”

Stressing the need to make the issue an international one, he observed: “Bangladesh must be more active on the matter.”

“In 2014, we wanted to talk about the matter with Myanmar but they declined,” he added.

Former Bangladesh ambassador to China, Munshi Foyez Ahmd, observed: “The Rohingya imbroglio is being exploited by a few Buddhist and political leaders and military generals.”

In the past, divisive propaganda was carried out in Rakhine, which needs to be countered, he stated.