For the past five years, 900,000 Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, with no solution in sight. Rohingya refugees were forcibly displaced by the Myanmar military. On August 25 in 2017, the Myanmar military carried out a massacre of the Rohingya population in Rakhine State. The Bangladeshi government gave shelter to the Rohingya on humanitarian grounds.
Extreme weather, multiple fires, and a rise in crime have left the Rohingya refugees on edge. According to aid agencies, programming has been hampered by an overall attenuation of humanitarian space.
The Rohingya expressed hope that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, would promote their right to return to Myanmar. According to media reports, she tried to explain that the situation in Rakhine State is not yet favourable for the repatriation of Rohingya and advised them to wait and be patient.
During the five years that have passed since then, Myanmar has tried to cover the issue of repatriation of the Rohingya under the cloak of various dramas. Myanmar has continually
tried to convince the international community that it is serious about taking back the Rohingya, but its actual steps have fallen short.
On November 23 in 2017, a 19-point agreement was signed between the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya, but its practical reflection is still not visible. On August 22 in 2019, Myanmar announced that 3,450 Rohingyas would be divided into seven groups and taken back to their own country. But that too remains unfulfilled.
In 2019, after a hearing of the case filed by Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, an interim order on January 23 in 2020, did not include any direct instructions regarding the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
The Rohingya crisis has various aspects including the indifference of the international community, the silence of the United Nations, and the issue of Rohingya citizenship. One thing to note here is the elimination of all voices from the oppressed population.
Rohingya leader Mohibullah was instrumental in the repatriation efforts. His meeting with US President Donald Trump in July 2019, his multiple visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and such actions as organizing a mass meeting of Rohingya on the anniversary of their arrival in Bangladesh on August 25 in 2019, were noteworthy.
But on September 29 in 2021, he was shot dead by gunmen in Lambasia Rohingya Camp East-West Block No 1. Although the details of the murder are not known, many believe that the Myanmar regime was behind it.
Recently, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, added a new dimension to the issue. On August 16, she visited the Rohingya camps in Ukhiya, an administrative region in Cox's Bazar.
The Myanmar government is working diligently to implement these projects. Repatriation of Rohingya to Rakhine State could derail such economic plans. This goes a long way toward understanding why Myanmar continues to politicize the situation in the State. Based on all this, Michelle Bachelet's "please wait" message takes on a new perspective. When will the wait be over?
