Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya

Joint move with Myanmar to start in two months; unclear how many will be let back

Rohingya refugees in a makeshift shelter in the Bangladeshi district of Ukhia. Bangladesh and Myanmar yesterday inked a deal to start repatriating Rohingya refugees.
Rohingya refugees in a makeshift shelter in the Bangladeshi district of Ukhia. Bangladesh and Myanmar yesterday inked a deal to start repatriating Rohingya refugees. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

YANGON • Bangladesh and Myanmar will start repatriating Rohingya refugees in two months, Dhaka said yesterday, as global pressure mounts over the crisis that has sent more than half a million people fleeing across the border.

Around 620,000 Rohingya have poured into Bangladesh since August to what is now the world's largest refugee camp, running from a Myanmar military crackdown that Washington said this week clearly constitutes "ethnic cleansing".

The statement from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is the strongest US condemnation yet of the crackdown, accusing Myanmar's security forces of perpetrating "horrendous atrocities" against the group.

Following talks between Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Dhaka's Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali, and after weeks of tussling over the terms of repatriation, the two sides yesterday inked a deal in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.

In a brief statement, Dhaka said they had agreed to start returning the refugees to mainly Buddhist Myanmar in two months.

It said that a working group would be set up within three weeks to agree on the arrangements for the repatriation. "This is a primary step. (They) will take back (Rohingya). Now we have to start working," Mr Ali told reporters.

However, it remains unclear how many Rohingya will be allowed back and how long the process will take. Rights groups have raised concerns about the process, including where the minority will be resettled after hundreds of their villages were razed, and how their safety will be ensured in a country where anti-Muslim sentiment is surging.

Despite the squalid conditions in the overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, many of the refugees say they are reluctant to return to Myanmar unless they are granted full citizenship.

"We won't go back to Myanmar unless all Rohingya are granted citizenship with full rights like any other Myanmar nationals," said Mr Abdur Rahim, 52, who was a teacher at a government-run school in Buthidaung in Myanmar's Rakhine state before fleeing across the border.

The signing of the deal came ahead of a highly-anticipated visit to both nations by Pope Francis, who has been outspoken about his sympathy for the Rohingya.

The latest unrest occurred after Rohingya rebels attacked police posts on Aug 25.

The military denies all allegations of rights abuse against the Rohingya in a subsequent crackdown, but has restricted access to the conflict zone.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 24, 2017, with the headline Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingya. Subscribe