DHAKA: Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees from January, despite rights groups warning that their safety is still not assured should they return. “Now, we will start the next step of our work,” Bangladesh foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali told reporters after the meeting. Responding to international pressure, Suu Kyi’s civilian government signed an agreement with Bangladesh to start the repatriation of the stateless Muslim refugees within two months. Testimonies gathered by Agence France-Presse from displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh suggest few refugees wish to return to Myanmar, where many saw their villages burned to ashes and loved ones killed. Aid groups have warned Myanmar they would boycott any new camps for Rohingya returnees, saying refugees must be allowed to settle in their own homes and not forced into ghetto-like conditions.

Source: Manila Times December 19, 2017 11:15 UTC