Rohingya refugees rally on two-year anniversary of exodus from Myanmar

Almost 200,000 Rohingya participated in a peaceful gathering that marked the second anniversary of the Muslim-majority ethnic group's exodus from Myanmar into Bangladesh, commemorating what they described as "Genocide Day." The refugees rallied and prayed as they demanded Myanmar grant them citizenship and other rights before they return.

In August 2017, nearly 740,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in the wake of a brutal crackdown by Myanmar's armed forces. Last year a United Nations investigation recommended the prosecution of Myanmar's top military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; Myanmar dismissed the allegations. "I have come here to seek justice for the murder of my two sons," 50-year-old Tayaba Khatun, a participant in the rally, said. "I will continue to seek justice till my last breath."

Sunday's demonstration came days after a second failed attempt to repatriate the refugees — no Rohingya refugees showed up at the border to return to Myanmar, as their demands for rights and citizenship remained unmet.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Nearly one million refugees are living in "squalid" camps in Bangladesh. Al Jazeera reported the camps are akin to cities like Islamabad, Pakistan, or Oslo, Norway, in size, but lack the infrastructure to cope with the large populations. Read more at Al Jazeera.