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UNHCR director tells newsmen

All Rohingyas expected to return home by next year

By Staff Correspondent
The repatriation of some 200.000 Rohingya refugees is expected to be completed by 1995 as the process resumes with fresh vigour after the re construction of cyclone dam
camps and renewal of the Memorandum of Understand ing (MOU). the visiting UNHCR executive said yesterday Most of the refugees will re turn home much before rhe end of next year. Werner Blat ter. UNHCR director Regional Bureau of Asia and Oceania told a press conference after visiting the refugee camps in Costs Bazar and Bandarban
The repatriation will re su.ne in late June or early July he added.
He said be is confident. the MOU between Bangladesh
and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which expires on May 12. would be renewed for another one year
The government has already agreed to extend the validity of the MOU for a month, he said.
When his attention was drawn to press reports that Bangladesh is unwilling to renew the MOU. he said, neither the Foreign Minister nor the Home Minister had raised the issue during their meetings.
1 don't know which clause of the MOU the Bangladesh authorities would like to nego-UafF.' Blatter told reporters
We can negotiate any point except for voluntary repatriation and verification of the refugees by UNHCR officials.
he said adding "We strictly maintain these two provisions.'
The UNHCR executive, however admitted delay in the repatriation process.
He said, the May 2 cyclone caused massive damage to transit camps on both sides of the Bangladesh-Myanmar bor der and after reconstruction of these camp* the repatriation would resume
The last batch of refugees was repatriated on April 13. So far. some 55.000 Rohingyas have been repatriated to their homeland in 18 months.
He said that as the UNHCR has now good accede to Myanmar since February this year, the process would be expe-
rmm rage i vol s dited.
On Myanmar side, the number of recepUon camps would be increased to 3.400 for a week. Meanwhile. more refugees have enrolled their names for repatriation.
Some 2.50.000 Rohingya Muslims who fled their homes In Arakan since 1991 alleging military persecution, had taken shelter in 17 camps in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban.
The UNHCR country representative. Chan Ngoyen-Tang. the deputy representative. George T Chponda. and head of the Cox's Bazar branch office Seefano Severe were present' at the press conference.
Werner Blatter lauded the Bangladesh government's steps to tackle the post-cyclone situation.
Responding to a question. Blatter said, the donor countries had pledged another 12 million dollars for the repatrra-tion of the Rohingya refugees.
"The donor community wants to spend money on repatriation rather than on maintaining the refugees at the camps," he said.
Replying to another question. Blatter said the main objective of his visit was to assess the damage caused by the cyclone but he also talked about the MOU The assessment was not yet completed, he added.
According to UNHCR estimate some 61 refugees were killed in the cyclone, he added
The 'UNHCR provided 25.000 US dollars for the cy clone, victims. Blatter men tioned.
Our Cox's Bazar Correspon dent adds: Werner Blatter vis ItedAhe Daindamia 2 cainp In the morning and handed over four trucks of relief materials to ihe district authorities
The local authorities in-fonned the UNHCR executive thal damage to the camps was estimated at Tk one crore