The Dhaka Times Desk Once again, Myanmar's de facto leader and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken about taking back the Rohingya. He said that the Rohingyas will be taken back within 3 weeks of signing the agreement.
Suu Kyi announced this promise at the plenary session of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conference last Monday. He said, Myanmar will take back the Rohingyas within 3 weeks of signing the MoU with Bangladesh.
Myanmar media Manila Bulletin reported in a news report that Philippine President Rodrigo Duarte, who is presiding over the ASEAN summit, said Harry Roque Jr., a spokesman for the conference, expressed concern about the displaced Rohingya near Myanmar. Following these concerns, Suu Kyi stated that the Rohingyas would be returned to Rakhine within 3 weeks of signing the MoU with Bangladesh.
Harry Rock also said that when asked about the status of Rohingya refugees at the conference, Myanmar said that the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission were being implemented. Humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons is welcomed.
Duarte's spokesman told reporters that the Philippines recognized the need for relief assistance not only for the displaced in Marawi City but also for the Rohingya refugees.
However, earlier the British news agency Reuters reported in a news that the Rohingya crisis was not mentioned in the draft declaration of the ASEAN conference. This announcement was officially read at the end of the conference on Tuesday. A paragraph in the Declaration mentions humanitarian cooperation in Vietnam and the Philippines. Similarly, humanitarian assistance to 'affected communities' in Rakhine is only mentioned. However, there is no statement about the 6 lakh Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh in the face of the ongoing military operation in Rakhine.
Reuters said the draft did not provide any details on the situation in Rakhine and did not use the word Rohingya. Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged foreign leaders not to use the term Rohingya.
Since the onset of the ongoing Rohingya crisis, ASEAN member Malaysia has been expressing deep concern. However, the issue was not taken up as a topic of discussion at the conference due to ASEAN's policy of not talking about the internal affairs of member states. Ethiopia withdrew itself from the ASEAN foreign ministers' speech in September because there was no Rohingya issue.
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