Bangladesh has pushed Myanmar hard on creating a favourable environment for Rohingya repatriation with an expeditious verification process, and has cautiously expressed optimism to begin it in the second quarter of this year.
The two countries will address the relevant issues, including a joint working group meeting with an expansion that will be held in the first week of February to prepare the ground for the repatriation.
“Personally, I would say, I am cautiously optimistic. We will keep trying with our hearts and souls,” Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a 90-minute tripartite meeting held virtually with Myanmar and China.
The China-Bangladesh-Myanmar meeting was chaired by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, and Myanmar Deputy Minister of International Cooperation Hau Do Suan led the Myanmar side.
Masud Bin Momen, who led the Bangladesh side in the meeting, said the process should start at least, and it will take a long time to send back all Rohingyas.
More importantly, the number is growing, with 90,000 children that were born in the last three years.
The foreign secretary said more complications might come, but there is no alternative to early beginning of repatriation.
Bangladesh proposed starting the repatriation in the first quarter, but Myanmar said the logistical arrangement would take some more time, especially because they have a meeting in parliament on April 1.
"Apparently, it will be difficult to begin in the first quarter," Masud Bin Momen said, adding that a DG-level hotline will be opened for instant communication between the two countries over repatriation issues.
The foreign secretary said they wanted to proceed by taking lessons from the two failed attempts before, so that this time the repatriation can be launched successfully.
“There are many factors. We are keeping those factors under consideration as previously we were not successful on two different occasions. We are taking lessons from that and finding ways on how we can become successful. We will remain engaged sincerely,” he said.
Masud Bin Momen said they did not think everything would be resolved overnight, but they want to do it taking all on board, including the international community and INGOs.
The foreign secretary said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had written to the Office of the Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) to open a repatriation wing.
The wing will be solely responsible to cover repatriation-related work as the ministry cannot do it from Dhaka directly.
The Myanmar side sought assurances that the Rohingyas would abide by their laws and regulations, and also mentioned the presence of ARSA.
"We said we do not allow any insurgents or terrorist groups on our soil. There are some criminal groups, but they do not have any religious or political identities," the foreign secretary said.
When the Chinese vice minister summarized the international community’s constructive engagement, the Myanmar side did not oppose it, meaning they also agreed in principle, he said.
The three parties reviewed the progress of previous work, discussed the way forward, and reiterated the commitment to creating favourable conditions for the early repatriation of displaced Myanmar residents from Rakhine.
