SEEKING SOLUTIONS
Rohingya should be able to return to Myanmar, says UN refugee chief
Geneva — The UN refugee chief said on Wednesday the "big question" regarding the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was whether they would be allowed to return to their homeland. Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said he hoped to discuss the statelessness of Rohingya with Myanmar officials in Geneva next week but recognised it was a "very complex issue". "It is very clear that the cause of this crisis is in Myanmar, but that the solution of this crisis also lies in Myanmar," he told a news conference in Geneva on his return from Bangladesh. He called on the Myanmar authorities to end the violence in northern Rakhine state so that solutions to the situation could then be discussed. About 480,000 Rohingya have fled northern Rakhine since August 25 and accused the army of a campaign of violence that the UN has called "ethnic cleansing", following attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts. About 300,000 Rohingya had previously crossed into neighbouring Bangladesh. A M...
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