508 Hindu refugees cleared for repatriation to Myanmar

Detained Myanmar journalist Wa Lone C is escorted by police to a court in Yangon in his continuing trial on February 14 2018 The court earlier denied bail to Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo two Reuters journalists charged under a secrecy act that could see them face up to 14 years in jail in a case that has sparked outcry over shrinking media freedom PicAFPMyanmar has said that 508 Hindus are among around 1000 refugees cleared for the first batch to be repatriated to their homes from Bangladesh The list which also includes 750 Muslims has been handed over to Bangladesh authorities to expedite the process of repatriating refugees now in the neighbouring country Myanmars Permanent Representative Hau Do Suan told the Security Council on Tuesday during a briefing on the situation there on TuesdayThe repatriation process has not yet started although he said that it was to have begun on January 23 under an agreement with Bangladesh Myanmar has provided Bangladesh side the resettlement plan covering livelihood assistance access to basic services and safety arrangement for verified returnees he added The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi however told the Council that the situation in Myanmar was not yet conducive for the return of refugees An end to violence and destruction of property and granting humanitarian access throughout Rakhine State as called for by the SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres were critical basic steps he saidHe acknowledged though that the flow of refugees to Bangladesh was significantly reduced Bangladeshs Permanent Representative Masud Bin Momen disputed that assertion saying that the flight of Rohingya fleeing to his country continued unabated and that 1500 had come over in the first ten days of FebruaryThe Council session was marked by sharp divisions with mainly the vetoarmed China and Russia taking a more conciliatory approach to Myanmar and the Western countries and Kuwait following a hardline accusing it of ethnic cleansing precluding any action US Permanent Representative Nikki Haley who insisted on referring to Myanmar as Burma said The Security Council has so far failed in its responsibility to act in response to the clear threat to international peace and security that has resulted from recent events in northern Rakhine State She said the Council must hold the military accountable for its actions and pressure State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to acknowledge the horrific acts taking place thereShe called on Guterres to appoint a special envoy for Myanmar There hasnt been a pointperson on Myanmar since former Indian diplomat Vijay Nambia left the position of special adviser for that country when Ban Kimoon completed his term in 2017 as SecretaryGeneral Council President Mansour Ayyad AlOtaibi of Kuwait also accused the Myanmar government of carrying out an ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas and said that refugees could not voluntarily return home unless confidencebuiding measures were undertaken Russias Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy however said that the overall situation was under control because of the efforts of the Myanmar authoritiesHe said relying on subjective and contradictory versions of events was not conducive to bringing peace to Myanmar Chinas Permanent Representative Ma Zhaoxu said the objectives of ending hostilities restoring order and finding solutions through dialogue had largely been achieved He said international community should acknowledge the difficulties in repatriating the refugees because of the complex situation in Rakhine state and be patient while extending support to the processThe current crisis that sent about 700000 refugees most of them Rohingya Muslims across the border to Bangladesh followed attacks on Myanmar security posts in August 2017 by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ARSA which is led by Karachiborn Ata Ullah leading to counterattacks by the armed forces and vigilantes Permanent Representatives Bernard TanohBoutchoue of Cote dIvoire and Anatolio Ndong Mba of Equatorial Guinea condemned the action of ARSA even as they also condemned the Myanmar government for the attacks on the RohigyaTanohBoutchoue said that he was concerned that the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda could exploit the situation Suan said that although there have been no major clashes during the last six months there is always a threat of ARSA terrorists who are taking refuge among innocent peoples returningCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goThe contentreporting displayed on our website wwwmiddaycom is provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE by us from third party agencies sources without any verification from our side It may contain error bugs and other limitations The readers can rely on the content at their own will Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its 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