DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh condemned the military coup in their home country and said it makes them more afraid to return.
A counterinsurgency operation by Myanmar’s military in 2017 involving mass rape, murders and village burning has driven more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to neighboring Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has hosted them in overcrowded refugee camps and is eager to send them back to Myanmar with a Buddhist majority. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement have failed because the Rohingya refused to go, fearing more violence in a country denying their basic rights, including citizenship.
Refugees on Tuesday said they are more afraid now that the military is in full control.
“The army killed us, raped our sisters and mothers, burned our villages. How is it possible for us to remain safe 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 now worse.”
Officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh gathered last month to discuss ways to begin the repatriation, with the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs appearing more hopeful of success and officials saying they expected to begin sometime in June.
But refugees said they are completely against the military takeover.
“We strongly condemn the coup d’état. We love democracy and human rights, so we’re afraid we will lose them in our country, ”said Maung.
“We are part of Myanmar, so we feel the same as the ordinary people of Myanmar. We urge the international community to raise its voice against the coup, ”he said.
Mohammad Jaffar, 70, said they had been waiting to go back.
“The hope that we had to go back has now been dashed by this regime change in Myanmar,” Jaffar said. “Repatriation will not be safe at all under this regime. … Now if we go back into the hands of those responsible for our torture, we will probably 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 go back to the current situation. If they bring us back into that regime, they will torture us even more, ”said Nurul Amin.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday it hopes the coup will not hinder the return of the refugees.
“As a direct and friendly neighbor, we would like to see peace and stability in Myanmar. We have been persistent in developing mutually beneficial relations with Myanmar and have worked with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh, ”he said.
The United Nations has described the military action against the Rohingya in Myanmar as a form of genocide. In total, more than 1 million refugees are received by Bangladesh.
Monday’s coup was a dramatic setback for Myanmar, spawned from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962.