Banished Rohingya mark solemn anniversary
DHAKA: Myanmar Rohingya Muslims protested across refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of clashes between Rohingya insurgents and Myanmar security forces that drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes.
More than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh comprising the world’s largest refugee settlement, with little prospect of returning to Myanmar, where they are mostly denied citizenship and other rights.
The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry said in a statement ‘‘not a single Rohingya’’ had yet returned to Myanmar because of the country’s ‘‘noncommittal attitude’’.
Refugees, from children to the elderly, waved placards and chanted slogans across the sprawling camps, many wearing black ribbons to mark what they called ‘Rohingya Genocide Remembrance’’.
‘‘Today we are demonstrating as in 2017 the Burmese (Myanmar) army killed our people in a genocide. They killed my husband and others, the military raped us, then they killed our children,’’ protester Jamalida Begum said.
‘‘For the last five years, we have been saying the same thing to the world. But noone listened to us. Today, we are again demonstrating just to let the world know that we want justice.’’
The United Nations has said the 2017 military crackdown was carried out with genocidal intent and Myanmar is facing charges of genocide at the
International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Buddhistmajority Myanmar denies the accusation, saying it was waging a legitimate campaign in 2017 against insurgents who attacked police posts in northern Rakhine state.
Densely populated Bangladesh says that the refugees’ repatriation to Myanmar is the only solution to the crisis. Local communities have been increasingly hostile towards Rohingya as funds for the refugees have dried up. — Reuters