By Dhaka Tribune
Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar Manjurul
Karim Khan Chowdhury was unable to visit “reconstructed” Rohingya villages in
Rakhine – owing to bad weather.
The envoy, along with other mission heads,
were supposed to visit the villages in a guided tour
The Bangladesh envoy, along with the heads of
mission of nine member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(Asean), China and India, flew to Rakhine state capital Sittwe on September 10
to see the villages, rebuilt for the return of the Rohingyas who fled their
homes to escape the atrocities by Myanmar security forces, and took shelter in
Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar two years ago.
But they could not make it to the villages as
their helicopters could not fly due to bad weather, diplomatic sources told
Dhaka Tribune.
A second attempt to visit the villages was
made the next day, but the plan was cancelled again due to bad weather.
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But not mentioned ongoing genocide against
both remained #Rohingyas & #Rakhine ethnic minorities.https://lnkd.in/gFrdmjF https://lnkd.in/gNevq7M
Representatives from the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) joined the envoys for the visit to the villages.
The delegates were accompanied by a deputy
minister attached to Myanmar State Counsellor's Office, headed by the country’s
de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Read here “Rohingya genocide going on:” https://lnkd.in/gfFaN83 https://lnkd.in/gGE69JW
Asked if the weather was really bad for the
visit, a diplomat told this correspondent: “Yes, it was bad. The envoys were
even seated in the helicopters, but they could not fly.”
The Myanmar government is working to
reschedule the visit, but nothing has been fixed yet, he further added.
The sources, however, did not sound
particularly optimistic about the visit as it is set to be a guided tour.
The Myanmar authorities will showcase the
three reconstructed villages that have been shown to many foreign dignitaries,
including former Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali, they told Dhaka
Tribune.
Even if a visit is scheduled in future, the
envoys will be taken to places chosen by the Myanmar authorities, they added.
‘Arsa to blame for failure in repatriation’
While the envoys were in Sittwe, the Myanmar
authorities arranged “interactions” between the envoys and some Hindus and
Rohingyas who supposedly returned to Rakhine from Bangladesh.
Speaking to the visiting delegates, all of
them squarely blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) for their
journey to Cox’s Bazar, and said they were still afraid to return to their
homes due to Arsa activities, the sources said.
The sources further observed that it was
obvious that the Hindus and Rohingyas had told the envoys what they had been
instructed to say by the Myanmar authorities.
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Don’t forget to read more below:
Can China Able to Help Find a Durable
Solution for the Rohingya Refugees Crisis? https://lnkd.in/g6qy_qK