Abdullah Shibli
Opinion
June 18, 2019
Balukhali camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, November 16, 2018. PHOTO: REUTERS/MOHAMMAD PONIR HOSSAIN
The Rohingya population in Bangladesh continues to grow. There are now over one million Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, and with each passing year, their number is increasing by approximately 20,000. Ominously, a recently leaked report commissioned by ASEAN suggests that Myanmar is willing to accept only 500,000 of them. This report, entitled “Preliminary Needs Assessment for Repatriation in Rakhine State, Myanmar”, prepared by ASEAN’s Emergency Response and Assessment Team, indicates that Myanmar is prepared for only half a million of the returnees. That is the official number of refugees provided by Myanmar to this team, according to AFP.