Rohingya repatriation

Amid the clamouring in the global community pressurising Myanmar to repatriate its lost Rohingya population, the country of Nobel laureate Aung San Su Kyi delivered its first statement of repatriation, where five members of a family were seen re-entering the conflicted country after almost a year of exile. Despite this momentary relief hinting that Myanmar may have finally buckled its boots to take charge of the situation, reports suggest that the act of repatriation was merely staged to placate global sentiments that were castigating Myanmar for its role in violating the rights of the Rohingya minorities. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled from Myanmar in August and entered neighbouring Bangladesh after a civil war had broken out in the country, which has been termed by the United Nations as an act of undisputed 'ethnic cleansing'. In November, Myanmar had consequently signed a bilateral repatriation deal with Bangladesh, agreeing to take back its population – an act that was described as theatrics. So far, despite Bangladesh submitting the names of 8,000 families, the state of Myanmar has taken no initiative to bring back its displaced people. Rohingya Blogger, a watchdog on Myanmar's Rohingya crisis, claimed that the five members, whose pictures were posted on social media receiving welcome kits from the Myanmar officials, were indeed living in the no-man's land between the borders of Myanmar and Bangladesh. They had been used as a trope to lure other Rohingya Muslims to come back to Myanmar, where situations continue to be adverse. After they failed to convince the others living in the no-man's land, the five members of the family were repatriated – a facade to prove Myanmar's welcome stance. "This is a deception," said Rohingya Blogger. Ursula Mueller, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, on her visit to Rohingya camps in Myanmar described situations as deplorable with a clear restriction on the freedom of movement as the 130,000 Rohingyas remain confined to their camps. Evidently, Myanmar has failed to provide relief and support to its own people. The Rohingyas are still not a recognised community in Myanmar. The repatriation of the five members also witnessed their names being enlisted as Muslims, not Rohingyas. Myanmar has faced harsh criticism from the entire global community for its complete failure to protect the Rohingyas. Though some positive steps have been taken in the arrest of 10 members of the military along with their subsequent suspension, the fate of the Rohingyas within the country continues to hang by a thread. Repatriation has been grossly delayed and, today, the Rohingyas can justifiably be termed as the 'people of nowhere'. The outrageous violence inflicted on the Rohingyas has been splashed across the pages of international dailies – yet, their homeland has done little to ensure their safety. If not contained in time, the Rohingya crisis could very well lay the bedrock for the next generation of aggrieved terror outfits.