Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque refuses to confirm any Rohingya repatriation date

Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque has refused to confirm any specific date for the beginning of Rohingya repatriation from Cox’s Bazar as reported by the international media.

"It's (repatriation) very much on the table. It's a continuous process. Anytime it can happen," he said while replying to a question at an event in Dhaka on Sunday.

He did not mention any specific date when pressed further.

Reuters earlier reported that Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to start a fresh attempt to repatriate on Aug 22.

"We have agreed to the repatriation of 3,540 people on August 22," Myint Thu, a spokesman for Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters by phone.

Before replying to questions, the foreign secretary in his speech said they would try to encourage Rohingyas to go back in the "next couple of weeks".

This is for their own sake, Haque said, adding that if they don't go back, they will be deprived not only of land, but also of all of their rights in Myanmar.

The Red and Green Research, an initiative of journalists, organised the seminar on the Rohingya crisis at the BIISS auditorium.