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The Financial Express

Myanmar needs to ‘focus on addressing underlying problems’ in Rakhine

| Updated: February 20, 2018 22:03:19


Myanmar diplomatic missions want safe Rohingya repatriation

The diplomatic missions in Myanmar have urged the Myanmar authorities to address the underlying problems, including security, freedom of movement, citizenship and access to livelihoods alongside health and education issues.

A statement of the diplomatic missions, a copy of which UNB obtained from Yangon on Tuesday, said, "We expect the government will now focus as well on addressing the underlying problems."

These issues, it said, were outlined in the Rakhine Advisory Commission's final recommendations.

The statement read, "Progress in these areas will help create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of all displaced communities to their villages."

According to the statement, increased access to Rakhine State will further foster increased understanding of conditions on the ground and allow for support to the return process preparations and the provision of humanitarian assistance.

UNB said the statement was issued by the diplomatic missions in Myanmar, which took part in government-arranged trips to Rakhine State in February 2018.

The missions include Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, and the United States.

The diplomats thanked the Myanmar government for arranging the recent diplomatic visits to Rakhine.

The statement said, "We appreciated the opportunity to interact with local communities and government officials, even under those constrained circumstances, and to see for ourselves the facilities the government of Myanmar has built in anticipation of potential returns."

Bangladesh earlier handed over a list of 1,673 Rohingya families (8,032 individuals) to Myanmar to start the first phase of repatriation of the displaced people to their homeland in Rakhine state.

"The Myanmar side has cordially accepted the list," said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Friday after over three hours of meeting with his Myanmar counterpart at the Secretariat in Dhaka.

Myanmar would scrutinise the list and names and get back to Bangladesh and there was no specific timeframe to start the repatriation.

The minister said, "[A congenial] environment needs to be created [in Rakhine] to make their return sustainable. No specific date was provided for repatriation but they showed sincerity and are taking preparations to take their nationals back."

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