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URGENT NEWS - Myanmar Will Take Bac
- Subject: URGENT NEWS - Myanmar Will Take Bac
- From: Rangoonp@xxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 21:47:00
Subject: URGENT NEWS - Myanmar Will Take Back Refugees Quickly: Bangladeshi FM
NOTE: Email, Call and Write the U.N. and Bangladesh NOT to forcibly
repatriate the Rohingyas. Many will be be imprisoned, forced into
labor, raped and/ or killed upon repatriation. The U.N. must help those
as they did for Kosovo !!
Myanmar Will Take Back Refugees Quickly: Bangladeshi FM
Xinhua
19-JUL-99
DHAKA (July 19) XINHUA - Bangladeshi Foreign Minister
Abdus Samad Azad said here on Monday he was optimistic
that Myanmar would very soon take back its citizens,
known
here as Rohingya refugees, to remove the irritant between
the two neighbors.
"The Myanmar foreign minister has assured me to take back
all their nationals very quickly," Azad told reporters
after
seeing his Myanmar counterpart, U Win Aung, off at the
Zia
international airport.
Before his departure for home, Aung said the Rohingya
repatriation would be over soon, but he gave no
time-frame.
Azad said he told Aung clearly that they had to take back
their nationals within this year, and Aung assured him of
doing the needful.
Since there was goodwill between the two sides, problems
between the two countries could be solved easily, said
the
minister, adding that the Myanmar minister, through his
visit,
had learnt the views of the Bangladeshi side on different
issues that affect bilateral relations.
Replying to a question, Azad said it was not only the
7,000
refugees who had already been cleared by Myanmar and the
UNHCR, but the entire lot numbering over 20,000 that
should be repatriated. "We have also communicated to them
that improvement of relations depends to a large extent
on
how swiftly the refugee problems is solved," the foreign
minister said.
Azad said he was assured that the pace of repatriation
would
be quickened and they agreed in principle to take back
all
their nationals.
Besides the refugee issue, he also discussed with Aung
such issues as landmining and border trade, he said.
Bangladesh had not decided on Myanmar's proposal of
forming a joint commission between the two countries, he
added.
About 250,000 Rohingyas crossed the Bangladesh border in
1991, and about 230,000 of them have been repatriated
under a memorandum of understanding between
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The repatriation of the refugees to Myanmar stopped in
July
1997 reportedly as a result of the refugees' refusal to
return.
The official BSS news agency said that since the
repatriation
was resumed in November last year and up to June this
year, only 378 Rohingyas had been repatriated, and during
this period, 621 babies were born in the camps and 78
died,
leaving an additional 543 to be included in the total
number
of refugees awaiting repatriation.