Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar yesterday (Saturday) staged demonstrations demanding "safe and voluntary" repatriation. The day marked one year of the brutal crackdown by the Myanmar army, at Rakhine State in Myanmar, that drove over 7,00,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh.

From 9am to 11am, the Rohingyas, including women and children, demonstrated at the Kutupalong, Balukhali, Palongkhali, Shamlapur, Madhurchhara and Whykhong refugee camps.

The Rohingya leaders demanded a safe environment to return to Rakhine. They said due to the crackdown, widespread rape, killings and torture by the Myanmar Army and local vigilantes they had fled to Bangladesh.

Even after one year, the international community has yet to address the problem so that they could return home. They said: “We want to return to our homeland in Myanmar. We want citizenship and a conducive environment.”

The leaders, Mohammad Idris, Mohammad Abu Taher, Sirajul Mostafa and Lalu Maji, addressed the demonstrators at different camps.

Sirajul Mostafa said: “Unless the international community puts pressure on the Myanmarese government, it will not take steps for our smooth return. We demand implementation of the Kofi Anan Commission's recommendations.”

“We held the demonstrations peacefully. We want to return to our country. We want the right of citizenship,” said Abu Taher.

Mohammed Abul Kalam Azad, commissioner of the Rohingya Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) in Cox’s Bazar, said: “The Rohingya refugees held demonstrations in the camps. They demanded safe and dignified repatriation.”

Ukhiya upazila Nirbahi Officer, Md Nikraruzzaman, said: “Precautionary measures were in place, and no untoward incident took place.”

 The Rohingyas are frustrated as they are unable to return to their native land in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Incidents of torture, rape, mass killings and the burning down of their homes by the army and vigilantes still haunt them. They want to return home to live with dignity, with the identity of a citizen of a country, removing the “stateless” tag, and want to end the hazardous life in the camps.

The hope that had arisen after the signing of an agreement between Dhaka and Naypyidaw on “safe and voluntary” repatriation of the displaced Rohingya refugees on November 23, 2017, is slowly fading. Moreover, Bangladesh and Myanmar are engaged in a blame game — accusing each other of delaying repatriation.

The repatriation process missed its supposed deadline many times. Moreover, the attitude of the Myanmar government and its military towards the Rohingyas is yet to change, and the condition of Rakhine State is still far from ideal. Rohingyas keep entering Bangladesh intermittently.

No one in Cox’s Bazar could say when the repatriation would begin.  Nurul Hakim, who fled to Bangladesh last year with his daughter and wife, now lives in D-Block of the Kutuplaong Rohingya Refugee Camp. Weeping, he told The Independent: “Six of my family members were killed. I fled to Bangladesh with the only survivors — my daughter and wife. They burnt down our home. We want to return to our home, we don’t’ want the camp life. We want our citizenship.”

He demanded that the international community ensure his repatriation in a conducive environment. Halima Khatun, another refugee who took shelter at the Kutupalong

camp after fleeing Myanmar with her daughter-in-law, said: “We want to return home. Our croplands are there. By

cultivating the land we can lead our lives. Here we have to depend on help.”

When contacted, Mohammed Abul Kalam Azad, commissioner of the Rohingya, Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC), told The Independent: “The refugees are in Cox’s Bazar waiting eagerly to return home. The environment there is not yet conducive to their returning, as Rohingyas are still entering Bangladesh intermittently. The delay in repatriation is mainly due to Myanmar.”

On other hand, as per the report of the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), there are challenges to ensure basic needs - shelter, water and sanitation, education, healthcare - of the Rohingyas. It appealed for USD 950 million in 2018, but received only 33 per cent of the funds. The recent floods and heavy rain added to the suffering to the refugees in the camps.

An estimated 7,06,000 Rohingya Muslims have found shelter in Cox’s Bazar since August 25, 2017. Most of them suffered torture and arson attacks at the hands of the Myanmar army and Buddhist vigilante groups in Myanmar. Till date, biometric registration of 1.1 million Rohingya refugees have been completed.