Rohingya caught in ‘no-man’s land’

– Rohingya people holed up in a border “no-man’s land” after fleeing Myanmar, will only accept repatriation to their home villages, a local leader said yesterday, rejecting any move to transit camps for fear of long-term confinement.

About 700 000 Rohingya have been driven into neighbouring Bangladesh since last August by a major army crackdown – purportedly intended to “clear” northern Rakhine state of militants from this Muslim minority.

The UN describes it as a cam- paign of ethnic cleansing against the Muslim Rohingya, an allegation staunchly denied by mainly Buddhist Myanmar.

Overwhelmed by the influx, Bangladesh wants Myanmar to take the refugees back and the neighbours agreed to start repatriating refugees in January. But so far, no Rohingya have returned.

Since August, several thousands of the Rohingya have been living in tents beyond a barbed wire fence which roughly demarcates the border zone between the two countries, reliant on food handouts.

Myanmar authorities are pressing hard for their return and have increased troop numbers on their side of the fence, accusing Rohingya militants of infiltrating the camp.

But despite the show of force and looming monsoon rains, a camp leader told reporters they would not bow to pressure to return, or to move forward into Bangladesh.

“We have no intention to enter Bangladesh. We are not Bengali ... we are Myanmar original citizens,” Dil Mohamed, 51, said through barbed wire. – AFP