UN officials visit camp to talk to Rohingya
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims yesterday gathered at the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh to give a UN Security Council team a first-hand look at the plight of the refugees who have fled military violence in Myanmar.
Many of them carried placards, some of which read We Want Justice. About 700,000 refugees are seeking UN protection to return home.
The UN team plans to meet some of them, including victims of rape and torture, before continuing to Myanmar to conclude its three-day visit today.
Representatives from the five permanent Security Council members – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and 10 non-permanent member states were at the camps in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar.
The violence in Myanmar began when Rohingya insurgents on August 25 staged a series of attacks on about 30 security outposts and other targets.
In the subsequent crackdown, which was described by UN and US officials as ethnic cleansing, Myanmar security forces were reported to have raped, killed and tortured individuals and burnt Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have been killed.
Rohingya refugees have rejected Myanmar’s proposed ID cards, called national verification cards, saying they want the citizenship that the government in the Buddhist-majority nation has denied them.
Myanmar authorities consider Rohingya to be immigrants from Bangladesh, and even refrain from using the word Rohingya. The refugees said yesterday that they belonged to Myanmar, where they had been living for centuries.
“We are not Bengali, we are Rohingya,” Mohammed Tayab said, standing in front of a tent where he was expecting to meet the UN team. He said he was shot in the right leg by Myanmar troops.
“They have killed my family members, they tortured us, they will kill us again. I am here to talk to them. We want justice from them.”
Mr Tayab, 29, said a brother, an uncle and a nephew had been killed by Myanmar soldiers.
“I will tell them my stories. They should listen to us,” he said.
The UN refugee agency and Bangladesh recently finalised an agreement that said the repatriation process must be “safe, voluntary and dignified and in line with international standards”.