Sofian Khan
Myanmar’s De Facto Leader State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi awaits for initiatives to sign an MoU to start the “safe and voluntarily return” of all of those Rohingyas who have fled across the border. Her less than two-year old civilian government faced heavy international criticism for its response to the Rohingya crisis. Suu Kyi now, therefore looks forward to a discussion with the Bangladesh foreign minister on Wednesday and Thursday. Myanmar’s military of atrocities were accused by right groups for mass rape, against Rohingya during the clearance operation. When questions about human rights violations were brought by reporters, Suu Kyi responded, “We can’t say whether it has happened or not. As it is responsibility of the government, we have to make sure that it won’t happen.”
Suu Kyi said Myanmar would follow the framework of an agreement on the basis of residency reached in the 1990s to cover the earlier repatriation of Rohingya. “As this was agreed by the two governments long time ago with success, so this will be formula we will continue to follow,” she said at an Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw.Myanmar’s view for Rohingyas are “illegal and stateless immigrants from Bangladesh”. Their counter-insurgency operation resulted more than 6,00,000 Rohingyas out of the Buddhist-majority country since late August.Rather on the land they were previously occupied, Myanmar tends to resettle most refugees who return in new “model villages”.
Source: the Hindu, Reuters