International pressure has made Myanmar agreed to sit in a bilateral meeting on Rohingya issue with Bangladesh. After facing the international pressure, on Monday (October 2nd), union minister for the Office of the State Counsellor of Myanmar Kyaw Tint Swe sat on a meeting with AH Mahmood Ali, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. The two sides agreed to constitute a ‘Joint Working Group’ on the repatriation of Rohingyas. In this meeting, Bangladesh handed over a draft of an agreement regarding the repatriation of Rohingyas. In this context, a government official said, ‘Without international pressure, Myanmar would not change its stand. They would not even agree to sit in the bilateral meeting with us within one month.’

In fact, the Rohingya crisis started in 1978, in this context, on 28 September, 2017 in an open discussion session of UN Security Council on Rohingya issue,  Bangladesh's Permanent Representative Masud Bin Momen said, ‘From our experience for three decades we have seen, whenever international pressure decreases, bilateral discussion loses its speed.’

Another official of the government said, ‘The international community is sure that in the last one month Myanmar army has burnt houses, raped in Rakhine & massacred. That’s why 13 members and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke the same at meeting in the Security Council.’ He further said, 'Everyday in the satellite images, reports of the journalists and different organizations evidence of this nefarious activity is seen and it is not possible to hide this from the international community. Myanmar knows it very well and that’s why they sat in the meeting with us.’

Informing that the evidences of ongoing destruction are being collected everyday this official said, ‘These evidences will put Myanmar into pressure in future.’

‘If the international pressure continues, it is possible to repatriate the Rohingyas. And if pressure decreases discussions will be prolonged.’   

Mentioning the Bangladesh’s assistance to the local and international media and human rights organizations to be more vocal on this issue one senior government official said, ‘'We have been in close contact with different countries and organizations, including the UN, EU, and OIC so that the Rohingya issue could not be concealed.’

It is to be mentioned that more than 5 lakhs Rohingyas started fleeing to Bangladesh since 25 August, 2017 to escape crackdown and torture by Myanmar army. Worldwide massive condemnation began when news of the massacre and torture on Rohingyas get published in the media.  In the first half of the September of this year, the United Nations Security Council unanimously gave a statement on Myanmar and Rohingya issue.