Marking seven years since the military crackdown, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees held rallies in Bangladeshi camps on Sunday, August 25, demanding an end to the violence and a secure return to Myanmar, reported Reuters.
The Rohingya community was largely forced to escape from Myanmar’s Rakhine state seven years ago, which was recognized as genocide by the UN and other global organizations.
Bangladesh currently shelters over 1.3 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazaar and Bhasan Char as per the report issued by the Foreign Ministry, with no returns occurring despite past attempts.
At the camps, from young to the elderly, people waved signs and chanted slogans, while several sported ribbons labeled “Rohingya Genocide Remembrance.”
Refugee Hafizur Rehman said, "Enough is enough. Stop violence and attacks on the Rohingya community.”
"Hope is home" and "We Rohingya are the citizens of Myanmar," the placards read.
"We want to return to our homeland with all the rights. The United Nations should take initiatives to ensure our livelihood and peaceful coexistence with other ethnic communities in Myanmar," one of the refugees said.
Meanwhile, thousands more are believed to have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine state recently as clashes escalate between the ruling junta and the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic militia that recruits from the Buddhist majority.
