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Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees marked the fifth anniversary of their flight from Myanmar to Bangladesh on Thursday, while the United States, the European Union and other Western nations pledged to continue supporting refugees in their quest for justice in international courts.
Bangladesh has hosted more than a million Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar for decades, including some 740,000 who crossed the border in August 2017 after the Myanmar military launched a “clearance operation” against them following an attack by a rebel group.
The security situation in Myanmar has deteriorated since the military takeover last year, and attempts to repatriate them have failed. In March, the United States said the oppression of Myanmar’s Rohingya amounted to genocide, after authorities confirmed that the Myanmar military had committed mass atrocities against civilians in a broad and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority.
Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, with most denied citizenship and many other rights.
Bangladeshi officials have expressed dismay at returning refugees to Myanmar after at least two failed attempts since 2017, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said sending them back to their own land was the only solution to the crisis.
On the eve of the anniversary, Bangladesh Home Minister Asadudzaman Khan said in a statement that Bangladesh wants the refugees to return to Myanmar safely.
“Bangladesh wants to ensure that the Rohingya can return to a safe environment in Myanmar, where they will no longer be persecuted and eventually gain citizenship,” he said.
“We urge the international community to join us in supporting the Rohingya and put pressure on Myanmar to stop the mass persecution and allow the Rohingya to return home safely,” Khan said.
The issue of the Rohingya crisis has been referred to an international court, and Myanmar has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
But global powers are not happy with Myanmar’s stance. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken said in a statement Wednesday that the United States remains “committed to advancing justice and accountability for the Rohingya and all people in Myanmar.”
“We continue to support the Myanmar Independent Investigation Mechanism in the Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the Genocide Convention. International Court of Justiceand credible courts around the world with jurisdiction over cases involving atrocity crimes by the Myanmar military,” Blinken said.
Separately, the High Representative, in a joint statement on behalf of the European Union and the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, said that they continued to set up against the United Nations fact-finding mission a consistent pattern of gross violations and abuses of human rights, many of which constitute serious violations of human rights under international law. offense.
“We also acknowledge other initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable, including the Gambia’s efforts at the International Court of Justice, which is currently examining whether the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya also amount to genocide,” the statement read.
“We reiterate that Myanmar must comply with the Interim Measures Order of the International Court of Justice,” it said.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a bilateral agreement to repatriate refugees in November 2017, brokered by China.
Earlier this month, during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Bangladesh sought Chinese help in repatriating the Rohingya to Myanmar.
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