China is willing to work with Bangladesh and Myanmar as a third party in resolving the protracted Rohingya crisis, Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said yesterday.  “The Chinese ambassador met me and said they are with us. They (China) have told us that both Bangladesh and Myanmar are their friendly countries. So, they are willing to work as a third party to resolve the crisis,” he said after briefing a number of envoys and UN representatives at state guest house Padma in the capital. Momen, however, said the date has not been fixed when China, Bangladesh and Myanmar would sit.

“The Chinese ambassador met me and now he will meet Myanmar and then inform us the date,” the minister told journalists after the meeting with the envoys and UN representatives.

At the meeting, Dhaka urged the participants to work more actively in finding a solution to the Rohingya crisis, which has not only affected Bangladesh but also become a global problem.

Quoting the envoys, foreign minister Momen said the envoys and UN representatives have assured Bangladesh of standing by it in resolving the crisis.

“We have urged the envoys to be more aggressive and to take more active initiatives to find a solution to the crisis because it is not a problem of Bangladesh alone. It’s a global

problem,” the foreign minister said. “We hope that you would play a more active role so that Myanmar is compelled to take back its people to the place of their origin. We want Myanmar to fulfil the commitments they gave us,” he added.

Myanmar’s ministry of foreign affairs hurriedly issued a press release on August 22, 2019, accusing Bangladesh of not being able to send their people due to alleged non-compliance with the bilateral instruments.

“On August 22, Myanmar squarely accused Bangladesh of not being able to send their people back due to alleged non-compliance with the bilateral instruments. But as per the bilateral instruments on repatriation, the responsibility of encouraging the displaced people to opt for voluntary return lies entirely on Myanmar,” the foreign minister said.

“We have told the international community that we have done everything possible on our part. It is the responsibility of Myanmar to convince their displaced people to return voluntarily. It’s not our duty,” the minister said.

Bangladesh has made all necessary arrangements on its side, including security and logistics, for the voluntary return of Rohingyas, he added. “We got a list of 3,450 persons. We immediately forwarded it to the UNHCR representatives to gauge the willingness of the Rohingya people. The representatives of Myanmar and China were present to monitor the whole process and preparations at Cox’s Bazar,” he said.

“We are transparent in all our processes. Nothing is hidden. Myanmar said they had created a favourable environment, but their people (Rohingya) don’t trust them. There is a trust deficit. Myanmar failed to reduce this trust deficit,” he said.

About reducing trust deficit, the minister said: “We have told Myanmar to use national and international media, along with the representative of different international community, and take them on a visit to Rakhine to show what arrangements they had made. Besides, we have suggested that they take some 40–50 Rohingya leaders from here to show what they had done to create a conducive environment.”

“Myanmar has repeatedly told us that the safety, security and mobility of these people will be ensured after their return. If so, they should take a team there to prove what they claim. Myanmar has to encourage them to return,” he continued.

“The global community is with us. They are helping us by giving financial assistance as well,” he added. When asked about the next course of action, the minister said: “We want a peaceful solution to the crisis. It is taking some time. We are optimistic about solving this problem. Such a problem had been solved earlier too.”

The minister told the envoys that Bangladesh concluded three bilateral instruments with Myanmar on the repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas about two years back.

According to bilateral instruments, the repatriation was scheduled to commence in January 2018 with a target of completing the process in the next two years. But regrettably, the physical reparation was yet to begin, the minister said.

After an abortive effort on November 15 last year, another repatriation attempt was made on August 22 with a fresh list of 3,450 Rohingya individuals out of 1.1 million verified by Myanmar. Bangladesh agreed to facilitate the repatriation on August 22 against the backdrop of Myanmar’s repeated claim that they were prepared to receive the displaced persons and a visit by a high-level delegation from Myanmar to camps in Cox’s Bazar on July 27-28 to convince the Rohingyas to return.

But Myanmar failed to dispel the trust deficit between the Myanmar government and their displaced people. The minister said that accusing Bangladesh of non-cooperation in the repatriation effort by a party who is fully responsible for the protracted crisis was baseless, ill-motivated and totally unacceptable.

He also said that Bangladesh had urged the government of Myanmar to fulfil its obligations and commitments necessary for a durable solution to the problem.