About 100 people led by Buddhists monks marched through
the state capital Sittwe holding red banners and chanting slogans.
SITTWE, MYANMAR: Protesters in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine
state demonstrated on Sunday against the planned repatriation of Rohingya
Muslims from Bangladesh, referring to them as "runaway refugees".
"There will be no benefits to us or our country if
we accept the Bengalis," he added, using a derogatory term for the
Rohingya that falsely implies they are newcomers from Bangladesh.
But they also are wary of hostility from the non-Muslim
residents in Rakhine, many of whom are not eager for the Rohingya to return.
About 100 people led by Buddhists monks marched through
the state capital Sittwe holding red banners and chanting slogans.
"All the people of the nation are responsible to
protect the security of the country," one monk said, according to a
Facebook live streaming of the protest.
The demonstration comes 10 days after Bangladesh and
Myanmar were supposed to officially start repatriating members of the Rohingya
minority who had fled violent military operations in August 2017.
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said Myanmar's armed
forces raped women, murdered their relatives and burned down their houses in a
bid to drive them out of the country for good after decades of persecution.
The deal to bring them back was struck a year ago but
Rohingya in the camps fear returning without guarantees of citizenship, safety,
and equal access to healthcare and education.
The Buddhist protesters in Sittwe on Sunday reflected
that view, holding signs that included calls on authorities to "take
action" against illegal immigrants and to not "allow resettling (of)
the runaway refugees" in parts of northern Rakhine state.
UN investigators have called for Myanmar's top brass to
be prosecuted on charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court or an
ad hoc tribunal.
Myanmar denies almost all claims of atrocities and says
it was defending itself against Rohingya terrorists.
Demonstrations against the Rohingya are not uncommon in
Sittwe, where inter-communal violence broke out in 2012, killing hundreds and
sending more than 120,000 Rohingya into internal displacement camps where most
remain today.
Source: NDTV