UNSC to meet Wednesday on Rohingya issue

Johnson discusses repatriation with Suu Kyi; steps against those involved in Inn Din massacre

FE Team | Published: February 11, 2018 23:49:33

UN Security Council will meet on Wednesday (New York time Tuesday) to discuss Rohingya issue and situation in Rakhine Sate, according to a provisional programme of the Security Council, report agencies.
In the Myanmar capital, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has met Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to talk about Rohingyas and how they can be repatriated.
Quoting a statement from Myanmar's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Associated Press (AP) said Johnson and Suu Kyi discussed on Sunday repatriation and developments in Rakhine, the western Myanmar state from where the Rohingya have fled.
Johnson reached Myanmar from Bangladesh after meeting Rohingyas on Saturday. Johnson said on Twitter that Sunday's discussion concerned investigating violence in Rakhine and creating the right conditions for repatriation.
"Held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi. Discussed importance of Burmese authorities in carrying out full & independent investigation into the violence in #Rakhine & urgent need to create the right conditions for #Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Rakhine," he wrote.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Myanmar are in talks to hold a home ministerial-level meeting this month.
If finalised, Myanmar Home Minister Kyaw Swe will lead his country while Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal Bangladesh at the meeting which will discuss Rohingya repatriation, smuggling of drugs, security and other relevant issues.
Four teams of Members of European Parliament (MEPs) comprising 11 MEPs are currently in Cox's Bazar and they visited a Rohingya camp there on Monday to see their plight on the ground.
In October last year, the Council of the EU in its conclusions said it may consider additional measures if the situation does not improve but also stands ready to respond accordingly to positive developments.
On January 16, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on 'Physical Arrangement' which will facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh.
The 'Physical Arrangement' stipulates that the repatriation will be completed preferably within two years from the start of repatriation.
Another report adds:Action will be taken against 10 members of Myanmar's security forces in connection with the killing of captured Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, a government spokesman said on Sunday, adding it was not related to a Reuters report on the incident.
Reuters on Friday published a report laying out events that led up to the killing of 10 Rohingya men in the northern Rakhine village of Inn Din who were buried in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbors and soldiers.
A Myanmar government spokesman, Zaw Htay, said that "action according to the law" would be taken against seven soldiers, three members of the police force and six villagers as part of an army investigation that was initiated before the Reuters report was published.
The arrests were "not because of Reuters news. The investigation was being conducted even before Reuters news," Zaw Htay said, adding that he was unable to specify what action would be taken against the 16 people.