Australia Offers Rohingya on Manus Island Up to $20,000 for Return to Myanmar

The Australian authorities offer to Rohingya refugees currently living on Manus Island financial aid in order to return to Myanmar, The Guardian newspaper reported citing the Rohingya refugees.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Australian authorities offer up to 25,000 Australian dollars ($20,000) to Rohingya refugees currently living in the Australia-run detention camp on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to return home to Myanmar despite the ongoing crisis in the Asian country, The Guardian newspaper reported citing the a refugees.

Some of the Rohingya refugees, whom the UK newspaper talked to, said they were willing to return to Myanmar.

However, Myanmar's state of Rakhine where the Rohingya traditionally live, is currently facing an exodus of representatives of this Muslim minority from the country to neighboring Bangladesh in response to violence toward them from Myanmar's security forces. According to UN data, over 400,000 Rohingya have fled since the latest outbreak of violence in late August that resulted in the killings of dozens of Rohingya.

The Australian authorities' offers are made in a bid to remove refugees from the camp after last year's order by Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court, which found the camps to be in breach of the country's constitution. Also, various international organizations have expressed their concerns over bad detention conditions and human rights violations in the camp.