Editorial
Rohingya Repatriation
THE news of resumption of talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar in Yangon on repatriation of Rohingya refugees to their homeland marks a step forward in resolving a thorny issue between the two countries. The repatriation process had suddenly been stopped in 1997.
This fresh move promises to break a longstanding stalemate. It is worthwhile to mention that some 21,000 Rohingyas, living in two refugee camps - Nayapara and Kutupalong - in Cox's Bazar, have been waiting to go back to their homeland since 1991. The process of repatriation has been an on-and-off affair till it came to a virtual standstill in 1997. The trickle of fifty persons being repatriated to Myanmar per week points to a long drawn-out process encompassing nearly three years, which can complicate the process rather than facilitating it. We have to avert that prospect anyhow.
Moreover, reportedly, the birth rate at the refugee camps has almost surpassed the rate of repatriation, which only means the number of the displaced on this side of the border is effectively increasing. This might aggravate the situation in future and tell upon the local economy while the humanitarian concern for the refugees grows.
We hope the meeting between high-powered delegations of the two countries will bear fruit in the shape a concrete agreement enabling the completion of the process of repatriation at the earliest, say, well within a year's time.
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