By Ananya Upadhyay
In a recent development in the situation of Rohingya Muslims who fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh last year in August, the Myanmar government has agreed to take those refugees back, in a time period of two years. Myanmar faced overwhelming international criticism following the alleged army crackdown in Rakhine province, forcing more than 740,000 Rohingyas to flee. There were allegations of brutal violence, loot and even sexual assault at the hands of the army. The Buddhist-majority nation also does not recognise the Rohingya Muslims as official citizens. The said deal is likely the result of the steadily mounting international pressure on Aung San Suu Kyis government.
The repatriation process
The repatriation process is set to start from next week by Bangladesh officials sharing with Myanmar authorities, a list of 100,000 Rohingyas, picked at random from among registered refugees. According to Bangladeshi officials, a list of 100,000 names was sent to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation, which the latter is yet to publicly endorse. Myanmar also stressed the need for mutual preventive measures against the threat of possible Rohingya attacks in the future and gave a list of 1000 alleged militants to Dhaka. It is pertinent to note that the repatriation agreement does not apply to the approximately 200,000 refugees who fled to Bangladesh prior to October 2016.
Working of the process
For the repatriation process, five transit camps will be set up on the Bangladesh-side of the border, from where the refugees will be sent to two temporary reception centres in Myanmar. The estimated 625 buildings will supposedly accommodate 30,000 people. A Myanmar minister has said they will take maximum 300 refugees in a day, as against the 3,000 Bangladesh wanted, so it might take well over two decades for the process to complete.
International concern
The UN, not officially involved in the process, has expressed grave concerns. UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said on Tuesday, the Rohingya should return voluntarily only when they feel it is safe to do so. Major challenges have to be overcome,….these include ensuring they are told about the situation in their areas of origin … and are consulted on their wishes, that their safety is ensured. More reception centres are yet to be built, according to the Myanmar government. Rakhine’s state secretary, U Tin Maung Swe, said, “The (proposed) houses are not yet built. We plan to build them under a cash-for-work project. We will give them both money and jobs. The returnees will build their homes by themselves.” Zaw Htay, spokesperson for Myanmar government said the returnees could apply for citizenship after they pass the verification process.
An untenable timeline
Amnesty International decried the two-year limit was “an impossible timetable” and urged for Myanmar’s government to alter its stance towards the stateless Muslim minority. Although the Myanmar government has said it will carry out a smooth and efficient repatriation process that guarantees proper resettlement of the displaced people, how it will actually deliver, remains to be seen. Many independent international agencies have accused the government of ethnic cleansing and criticised its unclear stand on the Rohingyas Muslims.
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