Hope Of Rohingya Refugees Among The Crunch Of The Myanmar Coup

JAKARTA - Bangladesh calls for peace and stability in Myanmar following a military coup on Monday, February 1. Bangladesh hopes Myanmar continues to make sincere efforts to advance the process of voluntary repatriation of the Rohingya Muslim refugees that have been stalled.

"We are persistent in developing a mutually beneficial relationship with Myanmar and have worked with Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of Rohingya who have taken refuge in Bangladesh," the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Reuters, quoted Monday, February 1. .

Muslim-majority Bangladesh has protected one million Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, most of whom are stateless.

The UN-backed repatriation process has failed despite efforts by Bangladesh, which has now started sending some refugees to the remote island in the Bay of Bengal.

"We hope this process will continue in earnest," said the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry.

Myanmar's military seized power Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi was detained along with other leaders from the National League for Democracy party in the raids in the early hours of Monday, February 1.

"We hope that the democratic process and constitutional arrangements will be enforced in Myanmar. As close and friendly neighbors, we want to see peace and stability in Myanmar," the ministry said.

Suu Kyi's international reputation was damaged after she failed to stop the forced eviction of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from western Rakhine State in 2017. However, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh condemned the actions against politicians in her home country.

"We urge the global community to come forward and restore democracy at all costs," Rohingya leader Dil Mohammed told Reuters by telephone.