Rohingya mark 9 years since expulsion from Myanmar, renew calls for safe return

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on Tuesday marked nine years since their mass expulsion from Myanmar, renewing demands for citizenship, justice, and a safe and dignified return to their homeland.

Rallies, discussions, and prayers were held across camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf in the southeastern coastal city of Cox’s Bazar, where refugees commemorated relatives killed during the 2017 military crackdown.

Nearly 1.2 million Rohingya are currently sheltering in Bangladesh, mostly in camps in Cox’s Bazar, according to the UN refugee agency.

Hundreds of thousands were forced from Myanmar’s Rakhine State beginning Aug. 25, 2017, amid killings, sexual violence, and the destruction of villages by Myanmar security forces. Despite repeated diplomatic initiatives, no large-scale repatriation has taken place.

“We do not want to remain refugees forever. We want to return to our own land in Rakhine, Myanmar,” Master Syed Ullah, an organizer of the United Council of Rohingya, told a gathering.

Rohingya leaders said any return must guarantee citizenship, security, freedom of movement, fundamental rights, and the ability to return to their original homes.

“We have been waiting for nine years. A generation of our children is growing up in the camps,” Rohingya leader Master Shoaib said.

A case accusing Myanmar of violating the Genocide Convention over its treatment of the Rohingya, filed by Gambia in 2019, remains before the International Court of Justice.

Many children born during the nine years of displacement have never seen Myanmar and know their ancestral homeland only through stories told by their families.