China remains actively engaged to resolve the Rohingya crisis and ensure return of those forcibly displaced people to Rakhine State from Cox’s Bazar where they took shelter fleeing ‘ethnic cleansing’.
Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday and discussed the issue, among others.
He also met with Chairman of Red Crescent Society of Bangladesh (BDRCS) Hafiz Ahmed Mazumdar and Vice-Chairman Prof Dr Md. Habibe Millat in a separate meeting and discussed ways for the ‘early repatriation’ of Rohingyas.
China is part of the joint working group with Bangladesh and Myanmar to deal the Rohingya issue. “The ambassador calls on the foreign minister for further discussion on early return of Rohingya displaced people to their homeland,” Hualong Yan, deputy chief of mission of the Chinese embassy said in a statement.
On the meeting with the leaders of the Red Crescent Society, he said, both parties discussed humanitarian cooperation between China and Bangladesh and early returning to their homeland of Rohingya displaced people.
Talks over the Rohingya crisis took a positive turn after Beijing inserted itself in the formal repatriation process as part of a joint working group alongside Bangladesh and Myanmar in September.
Under the 'tripartite joint working mechanism', China will work closely to evaluate the progress of the initiative on the ground. Experts took it as a positive development since China has the veto power in the UN Security Council.
Bangladesh is currently hosting more than 1.1 million Rohingyas. As many as 750,000 members of the Muslim minority group in Myanmar's Rakhine state fled ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their homeland in August 2017.
Despite attempts, none returned to their homeland citing Myanmar's failure to create conditions conducive to their ‘voluntary, safe and dignified’ return.
China initially used its veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent any actions against Myanmar. But later China engaged itself in resolving the crisis. The Chinese embassy representative was also seen in the latest botched attempt at repatriation on Aug 22.
Analysts believe China is eager to solve the problem to carry forward its Belt and Road Initiative, which involves the entire region, including Bangladesh and Myanmar. Leaving a serious issue like the Rohingya crisis unresolved will not serve the interests of China.
Recently at a seminar organised by Bangladesh Post, the ambassador, Li Jiming, suggested a novel approach involving the use of mobile phones to facilitate the repatriation.
He presented the idea -- which he calls '1+1+2' - to redress the trust deficit of Rohingyas in the Myanmar government. According to the proposal, a Rohingya family will choose a representative among themselves who will return to Myanmar. China will give two phones -- one to the representative and the other to the family in Cox's Bazar. The Rohingya representatives will then call and inform their families of the existing status in their homeland.
“They will see the situation in Myanmar for themselves and immediately inform their families whether the conditions in the Rakhine State are safe or not. They can then decide whether to go back or not,” the envoy said in that seminar.
He said the Myanmar government must ensure the safety and security of those representatives. Bangladesh always maintains voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingyas.