Bangladesh will press Myanmar for creating a conducive environment in Rakhine state for a safe and dignified return of the displaced Rohingyas, said officials.
The second meeting of the Joint Working Group, formed for Rohingya repatriation, is set to take place in Dhaka on Thursday.
“We want to see visible and verifiable activities on the ground in Rakhine,” said a government official, seeking anonymity.
If there is no visible progress, Rohingyas would not feel confident to go back to Rakhine, where they had to face atrocities committed by Myanmar military, he said.
Bangladesh would like to know the progress so far made in Rakhine state to build confidence among the Rohingya people for repatriation, he added.
Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque will lead the Bangladesh delegation in the meeting at the state-guest house Padma while the Myanmar side will be led by Permanent Secretary Mying Thu.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an arrangement for Rohingya repatriation in November and formed the joint working group in January and later signed a physical arrangement deal keeping the ground reality in mind.
Another official said, “We want to see a time-bound settlement plan under which Rohingyas will be repatriated.”
Legal rights, dwelling facility, freedom of movement, education, hospital facility and other basic needs would be the potential areas of discussion from the Bangladesh side, he added.
“Another important issue is there must be a clear announcement from the Myanmar government on how the Rohingyas will get back rights to their properties,” the official said.
According to Myanmar laws, if any house is burnt down, it will automatically becomes the state’s property.
The official said the Myanmar government is negotiating with the UN refugee agency to engage the global body in the repatriation and Dhaka wants an update on it, he added.
About accountability, he said, “It is important as sustainable repatriation is not possible without accountability. The atrocities on Rohingyas will continue if the perpetrators are not brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, visiting USAID chief Mark Andrew Green told the media in Dhaka: “I will be going to Burma. My job is to listen and learn. I will talk to people in Burma about what I have seen here.”
Green arrived in Dhaka on May 14 and visited camps in Cox’s Bazar the next day. He will be flying to Myanmar from here Thursday.
Washington provided $207 million assistance in the last 10 months for the Rohingyas
Bangladesh is now home to more than one million Rohingyas after some 700,000 fled since August after a military crackdown in Rakhine.
The UN and the US have described the military operation ‘ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas’ while Myanmar says it was a legitimate response to attack on police camps by insurgents.
Since Aug 25 last year, there are over 30,000 pregnant women, about 36,000 orphans and about 7,800 children whose both parents were missing fled to Bangladesh.