Rohingya demand end to violence in seventh year of flight from Myanmar By Reuters
Written by Ruma Paul
DHAKA (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees gathered in camps in Bangladesh on Sunday to mark the seventh anniversary of the outbreak of war that forced them to flee, demanding an end to the violence and a safe return to Myanmar.
More than a million Rohingya live in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh with little hope of returning home, where most are denied citizenship and other rights.
Thousands more are believed to have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state in recent weeks, as fighting escalates between the ruling party's military and the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnically-based mostly Buddhist army.
Refugees, from children to adults, waved placards and chanted slogans at the camps in Cox's Bazar, many wearing ribbons with the words 'Remembrance of the Rohingya Genocide'.
“Hope is at home” and “We Rohingya are citizens of Myanmar,” the posters read.
“Enough is enough. Stop the violence and attacks on the Rohingya community,” said refugee Hafizur Rahman.
The latest attack is the worst violence against the Rohingya since a 2017 operation led by Myanmar's military, which the United Nations has described as genocide, forced more than 73,000 to flee across the border into Bangladesh.
Populous Bangladesh says sending refugees back to Myanmar is the only solution. Local communities have become increasingly vulnerable as the Rohingya's finances have dried up.
Bangladesh is ready to accept more Rohingya refugees, foreign minister Mohammad Touhid Hossain told Reuters this month, calling on India and other countries to do more.
Hossain also called for more international pressure on the Arakan Army to stop attacking the Rohingya in Rakhine state.
The UN children's agency UNICEF has expressed concern over the tense situation in Rakhine, citing increasing reports of people, especially children, being caught in the crosshairs.
It said that seven years after leaving Myanmar “nearly half a million Rohingya refugees are growing up in the world's largest refugee camp”.
“We want to return to our country with all rights. The United Nations should take steps to ensure that we live and live in peace with other ethnic communities in Myanmar,” said Rohingya refugee Mohammed Taher.
