Bangladesh appears poised to repatriate members of the Muslim minority who fled the campaign of violence against them. They would be at grave riskBangladeshi soldiers, police and paramilitaries have already moved into the camps at Coxīs Bazar where some 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled last year. Repatriations to Myanmar are due to begin on Thursday. The returns are supposed to be safe, voluntary and dignified, but it is clear that none of these can be the case; the UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, says there is `terror and panic`. Listed families have gone into hiding and residents of the camps have alleged threats and beatings by officials. They are petrified at the prospect of going back to a place where thousands from the mainly Muslim Rohingya people were beaten, raped and murdered by security forces and civilians. The chair of a UN fact-finding mission, which described the violence as genocide, warned the security council that `returning them in this context is tantamount to condemning them to life as sub-humans and further mass killing`.Myanmar claims its military carried out justifiable actions against terrorists - the campaign of violence followed attacks by militants on security posts - and that villagers set fire to their own homes. What better way to show nothing is wrong than by trumpeting the return of refugees? Bangladesh worries that the international community is taking the camps for granted, and its leader, Sheikh Hasina, fears domestic political repercussions in next monthīs general election. It is also under pressure from China, which wants to push through the repatriations to protect its sphere of influence and ability to get on with business in Myanmar unhindered by international criticism. Continue reading...
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