DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh have condemned the military coup in their home country and said it makes them more afraid to return.
A counter-insurgency operation by the Myanmar army in 2017 involving mass rape, murder and arson has led to more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims in the vicinity of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has hosted them in crowded refugee camps and wants to start sending them back to Myanmar with a Buddhist majority. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement have failed because the Rohingya refused to leave, fearing greater violence in a country that denies them fundamental rights, including citizenship.
Refugees said on Tuesday that they feared more now that the army had complete control.
“The military killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, burned our villages. How is it possible to stay safe under their control? Said Khin Maung, head of the Rohingya Youth Association in the Cox’s Bazar camps.
“Any peaceful repatriation will be greatly affected,” he told the Associated Press. “It will take a long time, because the political situation in Myanmar is now worse.”
Officials in Myanmar and Bangladesh met last month to discuss ways to begin repatriations, with Bangladesh’s foreign ministry looking more hopeful for success, and officials saying it expects to begin sometime in June.
But the refugees said they were totally opposed to the military takeover.
“We strongly condemn the coup. We love democracy and human rights, so we are worried about losing them in our country, “said Maung.
“We are part of Myanmar, so we feel like ordinary people in Myanmar. We urge the international community to raise its voice against the coup, “he said.
Mohammad Jaffar, 70, said they were waiting for him to return.
“The hope that we should return now has been interrupted by this regime change in Myanmar,” Jaffar said. “Repatriation will not be safe at all under this regime. … Now, if we return to the hands of the people who are responsible for our torture, we will probably have to endure twice as much pain as before. ”
Another refugee said repatriation would not be possible now.
“Even if they try to repatriate us, we will not agree to return to the current situation. If they bring us back to that regime, they will torture us even more “, said Nurul Amin.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry said on Monday it hoped the coup would not prevent the return of refugees.
“As an immediate and friendly neighbor, we would like to see peace and stability in Myanmar. We have been persevering in developing mutually beneficial relations with Myanmar and have worked with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustained repatriation of Rohingya housed in Bangladesh, ”he said.
The United Nations has described Myanmar’s military crackdown on the Rohingya as a form of genocide. In total, more than 1 million refugees are sheltered by Bangladesh.
Monday’s coup was a dramatic nuisance for Myanmar, which emerged from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962.