DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh have condemned the military coup in their country and said it makes them more afraid to return.
A counterinsurgency operation by the Myanmar military in 2017, involving mass rapes, murders and the burning of villages, took more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has hosted them in crowded refugee camps and is eager to start sending them back to Myanmar, a majority Buddhist. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement have failed because the Rohingya refused to go, fearing more violence in a country that denies them basic rights, including citizenship.
The refugees said on Tuesday that they are more afraid now that the military is in full control.
“The military killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, set fire to our villages. How is it possible to be safe under your control? ”Said Khin Maung, head of the Rohingya Youth Association in the camps in Cox’s Bazaar district.
“Any peaceful repatriation will have a huge impact,” he told the Associated Press. “It will take a long time because the political situation in Myanmar is worse now.”
Myanmar and Bangladeshi officials met last month to discuss ways to start repatriations, with the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs looking more hopeful of success and officials saying they hoped to start in June.
But the refugees said they were completely opposed to the military takeover.
“We strongly condemn the coup. We love democracy and human rights, so we are concerned about losing them in our country, ”said Maung.
“We are part of Myanmar, so we feel the same as 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 to return.
“The hope that we had to return now has been interrupted by this regime change in Myanmar,” said Jaffar. “Repatriation will not be safe 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 that 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 take us back to the regime, they will torture us even more, ”said Nurul Amin.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry 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 persisted in developing mutually beneficial relationships with Myanmar and have been working with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustained repatriation of Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh, ”the document said.
The United Nations described Myanmar’s military crackdown on the Rohingya as a form of genocide. In total, more than 1 million refugees are being sheltered by Bangladesh.
Monday’s coup was a dramatic setback for Myanmar, which emerged from decades of strict military rule and international isolation begun in 1962.