Myanmar to take back Rohingyas if situation in Rakhine improves

Myanmar's military-backed government has identified over 300,000 Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh as former residents of Myanmar's Rakhine State. The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that these verified Rohingya will be taken back once the security situation improves.

According to the ministry, out of a list of 828,824 Rohingya provided by Bangladesh, verification of 426,545 individuals had been completed by the end of July. Among them, 308,797 have been identified as former residents of Rakhine.

However, verification could not be done for 113,507 individuals. Another 4,241 people have been identified by Myanmar as being involved in "terrorist activities."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that once the security situation in Rakhine stabilizes, they will continue to work with Bangladesh to take back the verified former residents.

This announcement from Myanmar comes as the Rohingya crisis enters its ninth year. In August 2017, following attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Rakhine, Myanmar launched a military crackdown. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh during that offensive. Several hundred thousand more had taken refuge in Bangladesh in earlier waves of violence.

The scale and violence of Myanmar's military operations at that time raised allegations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. The international community, including the United Nations, also strongly criticized Myanmar over the issue.

Myanmar, however, does not recognize the Rohingya as one of its 135 officially recognized ethnic groups. The country refers to them as "Bengalis" and claims they illegally migrated from Bangladesh and settled in Myanmar.

Repatriation Efforts Have Repeatedly Stalled

In 2018, Bangladesh and Myanmar reached an agreement to repatriate Rohingya within two years. However, that initiative was not implemented. After the military seized power and ousted the elected government in Myanmar in 2021, armed conflict in the country escalated further.

The situation worsened in 2023 when renewed intense fighting broke out between the Arakan Army and Myanmar's military in Rakhine. In recent years, the Arakan Army has captured vast areas of Rakhine from the military. The conflict has forced more Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh and other neighboring areas to save their lives.

Meanwhile, due to harsh living conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, declining international aid, and the lack of prospects for safe return to Myanmar, many Rohingya are attempting risky sea voyages to Malaysia and Indonesia. These journeys on rickety boats often result in fatalities.

At the end of July, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya from Malaysia. However, Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs official Han Win Aung then had said that the repatriation program was only for verified Myanmar nationals in Malaysian detention centers. He rejected the news of taking back Rohingyas.

Now, the Myanmar government has announced that it will take back 308,797 Rohingya identified as former residents of Rakhine. However, without specifying a timeline for repatriation, they have set the condition of a stabilized security situation. The big question now is how much progress the long-stalled repatriation process will actually make.

Source: ABC News