Rohingya refugees build shelter with bamboo at the Jamtoli camp in the morning in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Files
3rd April 2018
Rohingya people who fled from their towns after the violence in the state of Rakhine, are seen behind a fence on the border line outside Maungdaw, Myanmar March 31, 2018. Picture taken March 31, 2018. Source: Reuters/Stringer
AFTER months of resistance, Burma agreed on Monday to allow the United Nations Security Council to visit the country, but it is unclear if the ambassadors will be allowed access to Rakhine state, the UN said.
The Burmese government had previously allowed special rapporteur for human rights Yanghee Lee access to the country but in December withdrew cooperation after the government deemed her end-of-mission statement biased and unfair.
Access to Rakhine state has been consistently refused, however, with the authorities citing security concerns.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have been driven out of Rakhine state and are living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh since the Burmese military began a “clearance operation” in August.
According to AFP, via Japan Times, the government has given the green light for a February visit to go ahead, despite previously denying the council’s request, saying it was “not the right time.”
A Rohingya refugee boy carries water in the Kutupalong refugee camp, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh March 22, 2018. Source: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Peruvian Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra, who holds the council’s rotating presidency, said details of the itinerary had yet to be finalised, including whether the government would allow the council to visit Rakhine state.
“Obviously, we’re interested in Rakhine state,” said Meza-Cuadra. “There’s nothing better than a visit on the ground to see how it is.”
A Bangladeshi official also said Monday that a Burmese government official would visit the Rohingya refugee camps near the Bangladeshi-Burma border next week, making them the first high-ranking official to do so.
Win Myat Aye, Burma’s minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, will visit stateless Rohingya during a three-day trip to Bangladesh starting on April 11, Director-general for Southeast Asia at Bangladesh’s foreign affairs ministry Tareque Muhammad, told Benar News.
A repatriation deal between the two governments was agreed in November. Progress has been slow, however, with Burma only agreeing to take back a fraction of the thousands who have applied to return home.
