- Title: Timeline of plight of Rohingya Muslims, as UN convenes Global Refugee Forum
- Date: 6th December 2019
- Summary: KUTUPALONG, COX'S BAZAR, BANGLADESH (FILE - OCTOBER 23, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ROHINGYA WOMEN QUEUING TO RECEIVE AID SUPPLIED BY WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) WORKERS UNLOADING SACKS OF GRAINS FROM TRUCK WORKERS CARRYING SACKS OF GRAIN AND PUTTING THEM ON GROUND SACKS ON GROUND Pope Francis had an emotional meeting with Muslim refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh on December 1 and used the word Rohingya to describe them for the first time on his Asian trip, calling for them to be respected. He urged the world not to ignore refugees, persecuted minorities, the poor and vulnerable. DHAKA, BANGLADESH (FILE - DECEMBER 1, 2017) (REUTERS) ROHINGYA REFUGEES QUEUING TO MEET POPE FRANCIS POPE LISTENING TO REFUGEE POPE HOLDING REFUGEE'S HANDS POPE LISTENING TO REFUGEE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) POPE FRANCIS SAYING: (FOLLOWED BY ENGLISH TRANSLATION) "We will not close our hearts (TRANSLATOR SPEAKING IN ENGLISH). We will not look at the other side (TRANSLATOR SPEAKING IN ENGLISH). The presence of God today is also called Rohingya." POPE STANDING WITH LEADERS OF OTHER FAITHS ON STAGE REFUGEE CRYING The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) on December 7, said Rohingya refugees were continuing to flee across the border and had "little or nothing to go back to". They added that deep divisions remained between communities, and that humanitarian access was "inadequate". DHAKA, BANGLADESH (FILE - DECEMBER 7, 2017) (REUTERS) UNHCR LOGO UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR) DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER KELLY CLEMENTS SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER, KELLY CLEMENTS, SAYING: "Most have little or nothing to go back to. Their homes and villages have been destroyed. There are deep divisions between communities that remain unaddressed and humanitarian access is inadequate." In January 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to complete the voluntary repatriation of all the Rohingya refugees, but doubts quickly grew about the plan among refugees and in the United Nations. Myanmar's state media said the country would start receiving Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh at two reception centres and the temporary camp near Maungdaw on January 23, continuing over the next two years. GHUMDUM, BANGLADESH (FILE - JANUARY 20, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TENTS ON THE MYANMAR SIDE OF THE BORDER BARBED WIRE FENCE BUILT BY MYANMAR TO KEEP ROHINGYAS FROM COMING BACK INTO THE COUNTRY BANGLADESH BORDER SECURITY WALKING NAYAPARA CAMP, COX'S BAZAR, BANGLADESH (FILE - JANUARY 20, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE CARRYING RELIEF GOODS FROM DISTRIBUTION CENTRE VARIOUS OF REFUGEES GATHERING TO COLLECT FIREWOOD FROM AID DISTRIBUTION POINT
- Embargoed: 20th December 2019 00:45
- Keywords: Bangladesh Myanmar Rohingya Rohingya Muslims Rohingya crisis Rohingya timeline file footage refugee camps timeline
- Location: COX'S BAZAR, DHAKA AND GHUMDUM, BANGLADESH / YANGON, RAKHINE STATE AND NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR / PUNJAB, INDIA / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES
- City: COX'S BAZAR, DHAKA AND GHUMDUM, BANGLADESH / YANGON, RAKHINE STATE AND NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR / PUNJAB, INDIA / LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM / NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES
- Country: Various
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA007B8UXUTJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: This video timeline chronicles an ongoing crisis involving ethnic Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar in droves since August 2017, as the UN convenes Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar's military, which U.N. investigators say was carried out with "genocidal intent". Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
Rights monitors and fleeing Rohingyas said Myanmar security forces and Rakhine Buddhist vigilantes had launched a campaign of violence and arson aimed at driving out the Muslim population.
Myanmar had said its forces were carrying out clearance operations against the insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which claimed responsibility for the August attacks and similar, smaller, raids in October in 2016.
The strife had triggered an outpouring of response from global bodies and humanitarian agencies.
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi called the Rohingya crisis a "complex" issue which her government had inherited. She said that the strife between Muslims and other communities in Rakhine state had existed since the 19th century and restoring trust and harmony would take time.
Myanmar has publicly blamed the crisis on Rohingya "terrorists", referring to militants who attacked security posts in August 2017, prompting the army crackdown, and has branded reports of atrocities, including gang-rapes and mass killings, as fake news.
(Production: Phyllis Xu) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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