Myanmar yet to take step to resume Rohingya repatriation

Move unlikely before Nov 8 polls

Myanmar is yet to take any step to live up to the pledge it made little less than a year ago to start a process to resume the repatriation of Rohingya refugees living in two camps in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya upazila for decades.
Officials of the foreign ministry have expressed concerns that Myanmar is unlikely to take any move regarding Rohingya repatriation until a general election in that country slated for November 8 is held.
At the foreign office consultations between Bangladesh and Myanmar in Dhaka on August 31 last year, Naypyidaw agreed to start a process to restart the repatriation of registered Rohingya refugees within two months.
But, according to officials of the foreign ministry, there has been no initiative so far from the Myanmar side to resume the refugee repatriation, which has remained stalled since 2005
Apart from about 32,000 registered Rohingya refugees, it is estimated that three to five lakhs undocumented Rohingyas are living in different parts of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.
At the consultations, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to put in place a process within two months to repatriate 2,415 refugees, who were verified as Myanmar nationals by the authorities of that country in 2011, and a joint working group involving different agencies of the two governments would be constituted within this period to deal with the process.
The foreign ministry officials said that Bangladesh completed the formation of its part of the joint working group at the end of November last year. The 10-member Bangladesh side was to be headed by the Chittagong divisional commissioner.
“Following the formation of our side of the joint working group, we informed our neighbour about the development and requested them repeatedly to hold the first meeting of the group to determine the modalities to resume the repatriation,” a senior foreign ministry official told The Independent.
“But, we are yet to receive any specific answer from them. The Myanmar side appears to be dillydallying with the process,” he said.
The official also said, “It is highly unlikely that there will be any move from Myanmar to resume the repatriation of Rohingyas until after the general election in that country scheduled to be held on November 8.”
“The Rohingya issue is a sensitive one in Myanmar and the government in Naypyitaw will not be interested to deal with the issue before the polls,” he said.
“We will, however, remain positively engaged with Myanmar to address the protracted Rohingya issue – the most challenging irritant in the relationship between the two neighbours,” said the official.
“The resumption of the repatriation of Rogingya refugees will help us move faster in dealing with the issue related to undocumented Rohingyas, who are creating a much bigger problem than those in the refugee camps,” he said.

“Of course, whenever we interact with Myanmar, we raise both the issues – Rohingya refugees and undocumented Rohingyas – with due importance,” he added.

Myanmar yet to take step to resume Rohingya repatriation

Move unlikely before Nov 8 polls

Myanmar is yet to take any step to live up to the pledge it made little less than a year ago to start a process to resume the repatriation of Rohingya refugees living in two camps in Coxs Bazars Ukhiya upazila for decades. Officials of the foreign ministry have expressed concerns that Myanmar is unlikely to take any move regarding Rohingya repatriation until a general election in that country slated for November 8 is held. At the foreign office consultations between Bangladesh and Myanmar in Dhaka on August 31 last year, Naypyidaw agreed to start a process to restart the repatriation of registered Rohingya refugees within two months. But, according to officials of the foreign ministry, there has been no initiative so far from the Myanmar side to resume the refugee repatriation, which has remained stalled since 2005 Apart from about 32,000 registered Rohingya refugees, it is estimated that three to five lakhs undocumented Rohingyas are living in different parts of Coxs Bazar and Bandarban districts. At the consultations, Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to put in place a process within two months to repatriate 2,415 refugees, who were verified as Myanmar nationals by the authorities of that country in 2011, and a joint working group involving different agencies of the two governments would be constituted within this period to deal with the process. The foreign ministry officials said that Bangladesh completed the formation of its part of the joint working group at the end of November last year. The 10-member Bangladesh side was to be headed by the Chittagong divisional commissioner. Following the formation of our side of the joint working group, we informed our neighbour about the development and requested them repeatedly to hold the first meeting of the group to determine the modalities to resume the repatriation, a senior foreign ministry official told The Independent. But, we are yet to receive any specific answer from them. The Myanmar side appears to be dillydallying with the process, he said. The official also said, It is highly unlikely that there will be any move from Myanmar to resume the repatriation of Rohingyas until after the general election in that country scheduled to be held on November 8. The Rohingya issue is a sensitive one in Myanmar and the government in Naypyitaw will not be interested to deal with the issue before the polls, he said. We will, however, remain positively engaged with Myanmar to address the protracted Rohingya issue the most challenging irritant in the relationship between the two neighbours, said the official. The resumption of the repatriation of Rogingya refugees will help us move faster in dealing with the issue related to undocumented Rohingyas, who are creating a much bigger problem than those in the refugee camps, he said. Of course, whenever we interact with Myanmar, we raise both the issues Rohingya refugees and undocumented Rohingyas with due importance, he added.