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Diplomats doubt efficacy of refugee accord

Myanmar must change policy for effective repatriation

By Toufique Imrose Khalidi
Reforms and corrective measures on the pari of the rulers of Myanmar are seen as essential to the voluntary return of the Rohingya refugees and a permanent solution to the influx.
"Myanmar must change its attitude towards opponents and amend its policies as confidence building measures", says a Myanmar-based Asian diplomat.
The changes that are taking place in Myanmar are all-cosmetic ones", observed the diplomat referring to the recent retirement of Saw Mating
and subsequent release of senior political detainees and the offer for talks with the opposition.
On the accord that the Foreign Ministers of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed Tuesday, the diplomat said It is a combination of both cosmetic and fundamental'.
He Insisted that "an international guarantee for example in the form of UN monitoring of the whole process of rehabilitation upto the resettlement of the refugees' would certainly give more credence to the accord and more confi-
dence to the refugees yet to recover from the haqntlng memories of persecution.
Another diplomat who had been to the region where the Rohingyas live said that the accord was unlikely to restore confidence among the Rohln^as.
The diplomat spoke of 'multifarious and multidimensional persecution and suggested a change in the Myanmar citizenship laws.
The refugees were still crossing Into Bangladesh even as the officials of the two coun-•irics were at the iiegotlatlng
table talking their repatriation, the diplomat who requested-anonymity pointed out.
Meanwhile, the refugees have demanded that the Rohingyas be declared one of the indigenous ethnic groups of the Union of Burma entitled to all human rights and freedoms to be guaranteed by the constitution, at par with other nationalities of the country’.
'Mere repatriation of the refugees is not a solution to our problems' said a statement Faxed to The Daily Star from Cox's Bazar by the Rohingya Refugee Welfare Organisation.
To this effect, citizenship certificates authenticating our indigenous status must be issued to us before repatriation."
Narrating the long history of persecution of the Arakanese by the Myanmar authorities, the statement said that we are tn utter confusion and apprehension whether the agreement deals with the baste cause of our problems'.
The Rohingya refugees Insist that the repatriation agreement be based on resolv ing the crux of the problem which would ensure our indigenous status, full security of our life, honour and dignity and property without any sort of infringements and impediments in respect of our basic human rights and freedoms
The number of refugees has already crossed 2.25 lakh and they have been sheltered in 12 temporary camps tn Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts
Foreign Minister ASM Mostaflzur Rahman told the press Tuesday that some 97.000 refugees were yet to be provided with roofs over their
Meanwhile, the UNHCR has expressed satisfaction over the signing of the joint statement but was concerned that the refugees continued to arrive.
A UNHCR statement released yesterday in Dhaka said that the immediate improvements in conditions from which the influx originates and confidence building measures are indispensable to ensuring a voluntary and safe return'.
The UNHCR also reiterated Its willingness to engage in consultations with both Governments to help ensure a genuinely voluntary and safe repatriation within a realistic time frame'.