China offers cash to lure Rohingya refugees to Myanmar

China offers cash to lure Rohingya refugees to Myanmar

Rohingya leaders reject offer of $6,000 each, say they will only return if promised citizenship

By Pizaro Gozali

JAKARTA (AA) – A Chinese government delegation has reportedly met Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh promising them $6,000 each if they returned to Rakhine State in Myanmar, from where they had earlier fled persecution.

BenarNews reported on Wednesday that Sun Gouxiang, a Chinese envoy for Asian affairs, met 15 men and 14 women at Kutupalong refugee camp in the southeastern town of Cox’s Bazar on Sunday.

“They asked whether we would return to Myanmar if they gave us $6,000,” said Syed Ullah, the secretary general of the advocacy group Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace And Human Rights (ARSPH).

He added that he rejected the offer saying they will not return unless they were granted citizenship with Rohingya identity.

A Bangladeshi official who attended the meeting confirmed to BenarNews that the Chinese delegation had offered some money to help rebuild their homes in Rakhine State.

“At least 200,000 new houses must be built for Rohingya refugees who have been living in Bangladesh, but it would be very difficult to do so,” the official added.

According to the official, it would be impossible to build their houses as most refugees have lost the men in their households during the military crackdown.

The Chinese Embassy in Dhaka has not responded to this report.

Delwar Hossain, an official at the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry, said the ministry had arranged a meeting between the Chinese delegation and Rohingya refugees.

Meanwhile, Munshi Fayez, former Bangladeshi ambassador to Beijing, revealed that China wanted to talk to refugees to protect Myanmar from international pressure.

He also said China would get economic benefits from the repatriation as China wanted to establish an economic zone in Rakhine State. If the Rohingya issues remained unresolved, they cannot carry out their plan.

According to the New Light of Myanmar – a government-owned newspaper – Sun has visited several villages in Rakhine State and also met with Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw on Feb. 27.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings – including of infants and young children – brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces.

In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity and genocidal intent.

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