Myanmar’s crises cannot be an excuse to delay repatriation

Bangladesh has been providing refuge to about 1.1 million displaced Rohingya refugees for half a decade now, in what can only be described as one of the most selfless acts of humanitarian aid that the world has witnessed in recent times.

However, despite the generosity demonstrated by the government, it has now become a much bigger burden to bear for a developing country like ours -- especially with the multitude of other crises that the world as a whole is grappling with at present.

Despite our many attempts to appeal to the international community for help on the matter, active involvement on their part has been noticeably absent.

As current events unfold in Myanmar -- with a glaring amount of violence and overall political unrest being caused -- unfortunately, the safe and prompt repatriation for the Rohingya refugees still seems like a distant reality.

This is, truly, beyond unacceptable.

The Bangladeshi government has attempted a number of times to facilitate the safe return of the refugees to their homeland, and the fact that the Myanmar junta continues to disregard all such pleas is shameful, to say the least.

In addition, the current state of affairs in Myanmar abolishes any hope for a secure environment for the refugees who have suffered immensely at the hands of their government.

However, this cannot be an excuse for the Myanmar government to put off the repatriation of their people any longer.

Myanmar junta should not only be held accountable for the crimes committed against the Rohingya community, but also must oblige with our repatriation attempts -- for which, cooperation from the international community is imperative.

Both our country and the aggrieved Rohingya people have suffered for far too long due to the actions of the Myanmar government; it is high time the international powers come together to resolve the crisis once and for all.