The head of Bangladesh’s refugee commission announced on Thursday that plans to start sending Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar has been cancelled. An estimated 700,000 Rohingya are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. But they are unwilling to return to Myanmar, officials said. Refugee Commissioner Abul Kalam told the Associated Press that officials “can’t force them to go.” But he said officials will continue to try to persuade the refugees to leave. The announcement came after about 1,000 Rohingya demonstrated against returning to Myanmar. Another Bangladeshi official went to the Unchiprang camp, near the city of Cox’s Bazar. It is one of the largest refugee settlements in Bangladesh. The official spoke to the refugees over a loudspeaker. He said “we have arranged everything for you, we have six buses here, we have trucks, we have food. We want to offer everything to you. If you agree to go, we’ll take you to the border, to the transit camp.” However, hundreds of refugees refused the offer.
