Date: 13 March 2025
Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) warmly welcomes the visit to Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres with the Chief Advisor Dr. Mohammad Yunus on Friday, 14th March 2025.
It is heartening for the entire Rohingya population that the two great leaders will take part Iftar meal with refugees and members of the Bangladesh host community, recognising the generosity of Bangladesh in sheltering more than one million Rohingya who fled atrocity crimes and violence in Myanmar.
However, refugees are in anguish as a result of ration cuts in April. Without urgent new funding, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are feared to be on the brink of starvation soon because of the cuts in rations from US $12.50 per person per month to US $ 6. On the other hand, Rohingya living in Arakan are under severe restrictions, based on prejudicial intolerance, imposed by the Arakan Army are daily facing criminal atrocities and hunger.
The Rohingya in Arakan and in Bangladesh refugee camps are already described as one of the most vulnerable communities in terms of malnutrition, the cuts in rations will further impact their health and nutrition massively making their living terrible. The international community should continue helping this vulnerable people suitably.
It is to be emphasised that the Rohingya people are homesick. The refugee life is not a life, and they want to go back to their homeland, Arakan/Rakhine State, right away. But they cannot return where genocide is ongoing, and the violence of Myanmar military and Arakan Army await them. The international community should protect the Rohingya from these groups by putting effective pressure on them.
Last but not least, we have a high expectation on this visit of the UN Secretary General and urge him to address the root causes of the Rohingya crisis in order to find out a permanent solution, including voluntary, honourable, safe and dignified repatriation of the refugees to their original places in Arakan.
For further inquiries, please contact:
secretariat@thearna.org
About ARNA:
The Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) was formed to align all Rohingya leadership and provide a unified policy framework for the community. It serves as an alliance of Rohingyas from within Myanmar, refugee camps, internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, and the Rohingya diaspora.
Main Objective of ARNA
The primary objective of ARNA is to unify the Rohingya people under one alliance, amplifying their voices, and to achieve their right of self-determination within the Federal Union of Myanmar. This includes advocating for their right to return to their homes, securing justice for atrocities committed against them, and ensuring their political and human rights are recognized and upheld.