DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh have condemned the military coup in their homeland, saying it frightens them to return.
An anti-insurgency operation by the Myanmar army in 2017 with massive rape, killings and the burning of villages drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has housed them in busy refugee camps and is eager to start sending them back to the Buddhist majority Myanmar. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement failed because the Rohingya refused to go out, for fear of more violence in a country that denies basic rights including citizenship.
Refugees said Tuesday they are more scared now that the military is in full control.
“The army killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, burned down our villages. How is it possible for us to remain safely under their control? Said Khin Maung, head of the Rohingya Youth Association in the camps in Cox’s Bazar district.
“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 worse now.”
Myanmar and Bangladesh officials met last month to discuss ways to begin the repatriation, and Bangladesh’s foreign ministry looks more hopeful of success and officials said they expect to begin sometime in June.
But refugees said they were completely opposed to the military takeover.
‘We strongly condemn the coup. “We like democracy and human rights, so we are worried about losing it in our country,” Maung said.
“We are part of Myanmar, so we feel the same as Myanmar’s ordinary people. “We call on the international community to raise their voice against the coup,” he said.
Mohammad Jaffar, 70, said they were waiting to return.
“The hope that we should return is now interrupted by this change in government in Myanmar,” Jaffar said. “Feedback will not be safe at all under this regime. … If we now go back into the hands of people responsible for our torture, we will probably have to bear twice as much pain as before. ‘
Another refugee said repatriation would not be possible now.
“Even if they try to bring us back, we will not agree to go back into the current situation. “If they take us back to that regime, they will torture us even more,” said Nurul Amin.
The Foreign Ministry in Bangladesh said on Monday it hoped the coup would not hinder the return of refugees.
As an immediate and friendly neighbor, we would like to see peace and stability in Myanmar. “We have continued to benefit from each other’s relations with Myanmar and have worked with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustained repatriation of the Rohingya protected in Bangladesh,” he said.
The United Nations described the military attack 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 setback for Myanmar, stemming from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962.