No breakthrough in government efforts to send back Rohingya: minister

The government has done everything in its power to send back the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, but has nothing to show for it, according to the home minister.

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal briefed the media in Dhaka on Wednesday after presiding over the first meeting of the committee on coordination, management and security of the displaced Myanmar nationals.

“We’re trying everything. We’re going wherever we need to,” he said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had floated a plan for the repatriation of the Rohingya at the United Nations, he added.

He also mentioned that he and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen visited Myanmar while the border guards of the two countries have held talks.

“The Myanmar home minister has also come here. Everything has been done, but there has been no breakthrough,” Kamal said.

He said the foreign minister was working to do whatever Myanmar wants for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees. Momen held “fruitful” talks with three other countries, Kamal said.

But Myanmar is not committed to begin the repatriation process despite promises, the home minister said.

He said the government is also raising the issue in all the international forums.

Kamal said the meeting emphasised law enforcement in the refugee camps and other security issues related to the Rohingya.

The government had earlier decided to fence the camps with barbed wire and install surveillance cameras to prevent the Rohingya from moving in and out of the camps.

The committee agreed that the fence and a walkway along it should be completed swiftly.

Two Armed Police Battalions have been given the job to keep law and order in the camps.

But, drug smuggling has become a big challenge in tackling the refugee crisis, the home minister said.

“The residents of the camps sometimes go to Myanmar and return with yaba drugs. They even get engaged in deadly clashes over the share of the proceeds from smuggling,” he said.

“We are strengthening round-the-clock patrols to stop such incidents.”

The home minister also said no Rohingya has been relocated to the Bhasan Char island in Noakhali against their will.

“Any refugee willing to go there can shift. We’ve built a fire service station and a police building there.”