Dhaka, June21,(V7N)- National and international refugee experts on Thursday(June20), said that formal recognition of Rohingya as a refugee would solve many problems.

 Bangladesh has shown magnanimity by sheltering a million Rohingya refugees and now they need a formal recognition, they said at an online international seminar on Thursday observing World Refugee Day.

Coast Foundation and Cox's Bazar CSO-NGO Forum (CCNF) jointly organised the online international seminar chaired by Shireen Haque of Naripokkho and moderated by Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of Coast Foundation. 

Among others, Klaus Dick Nielsen and Hafsar Tamizuddin of Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), Gopal Siwakoti of InHUREED International, John Quinley of Fortify Rights, Gawhar Naeem Wahra of Disaster Forum, refugee and migration expert Asif Munir, Arifur Rahman of YPSA, Fazlul Qader Chowdhury of Cox’s Bazar Zilla Press Club, Jahangir Alam and Muhammad Bin Abdullah of CCNF took part in the discussion. Barkat Ullah Maruf of COAST Foundation presented the keynote in the seminar. 

During the keynote presentation, Barkat Ullah Maruf said if the Rohingyas had travel documents, they would not have risked their lives to cross the Andaman Sea to go to other countries illegally. They would take a legal way for foreign jobs and could also take their families there, he said.

Hafsar Tamizuddin, the Secretary General of APRRN, who was born as a Rohingya and lives in New Zealand, said that the Rohingya community is still being tortured in Maungdaw and Buthidaung in Myanmar. The international community is not very aware of it. We want transparency in the discussion about Rohingyas with other countries, she said.

John Quinley of Myanmar-based Fortify Rights said the rights of assembly, and Freedom of expression are the major rights among the many rights for refugees, which are often undermined. If a family wants to move elsewhere to avoid security risks in Rohingya camps, that is their right.

Gawhar Naeem Wahra of Disaster Forum said that about ten million Bangladeshi refugees took shelter in India in 1971. Delhi then recognised them as refugees despite not having ratified the Geneva Convention.

Bangladesh can also follow that example and recognise Rohingya as refugees.

He said, there is a benefit for Bangladesh recognising refugees. Expatriate refugees send money to the country through hundi. If recognised, they could have sent the money through the bank in a legal way. Foreign reserves of Bangladesh would have increased, he said.

Refugee and immigration expert Asif Munir said, there is a negative mindset among our law enforcement agencies about Rohingyas as if they are criminals.

He said that the ongoing conflict in the Rohingya camps cannot be dealt with by APBn (Armed Police Battalion) alone. 

A disarmament process should be carried out with the help of other forces. This may require the intervention of the Ministry of Defence, he added.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said that there is no other way to solve the Rohingya crisis except repatriation. International agencies should take meaningful initiatives for repatriation. 

 

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