Myanmar's blatant deceit towards Rohingya repatriation took a fresh turn when its Border Guard Police (BGP) started announcing to the estimated 5,800 Rohingyas stuck in the no man's land in Bandarban area to move somewhere else. These are the latest displaced people in the long-running campaign by the Myanmar military to depopulate Rakhine state, but they haven't been told precisely where they should move to.

The fact that the BGP has been claiming that these Rohingyas who took shelter in no man's land are "Bangalees" speaks volumes about how the regime continues to view its disenfranchised people.

Today, we are already stuck with Myanmar government's delaying tactics which have resulted in more than 700,000 Rohingyas stranded in Cox's Bazar since late August of last year. Although the Bangladesh government is preparing necessary infrastructure at Bhasan Char for the displaced people, it will house a mere fraction of the Rohingya refugees on our side of the border.

The cost of looking after so many people has been telling on the national exchequer and although the government has given them refuge on humanitarian grounds, it has wreaked havoc on our environment. What is needed is a concerted effort on the part of the international community to impress upon Myanmar to take back its citizens, restore their citizenship and guarantee their safety upon return.