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Myanmar, Bangladesh to Begin Return of Rohingya Refugees

By VOA News January 16, 2018

Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh have completed an agreement to repatriate scores of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar to escape a brutal military crackdown.

Bangladesh issued a statement Tuesday saying the repatriations will begin next week, with the goal of completing the process within the next two years.

Dhaka says the repatriation process will give priority to "family units" and orphans and "children born out of unwarranted incidence" – a reference to children conceived by rape. The agreement calls for Bangladesh to set up five transit camps that will move the refugees into two reception areas in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

But international watchdog Amnesty International called the deal "premature", saying that Rohingya, who allegedly were not consulted for the deal, have no gaurantee of safety upon their return.

"The obfuscation and denials of the Myanmar authorities give no reason to hope that the rights of returning Rohingya would be protected, or that the reasons for their original flight no longer exist," James Gomez, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement Tuesday. "The Rohingya have an absolute right to return to and reside in Myanmar, but there must be no rush to return people to a system of apartheid. Any forcible returns would be a violation of international law."

About 650,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh since last August, when Myanmar forces launched a scorched earth campaign against Rohingya villages in Rakhine state in response to attacks on Myanmar police outposts by Rohingya militants.

Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh have completed an agreement to repatriate scores of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar to escape a brutal military crackdown.

Bangladesh issued a statement Tuesday saying the repatriations will begin next week, with the goal of completing the process within the next two years.

Dhaka says the repatriation process will give priority to "family units" and orphans and "children born out of unwarranted incidence" – a reference to children conceived by rape. The agreement calls for Bangladesh to set up five transit camps that will move the refugees into two reception areas in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

But international watchdog Amnesty International called the deal "premature", saying that Rohingya, who allegedly were not consulted for the deal, have no gaurantee of safety upon their return.

"The obfuscation and denials of the Myanmar authorities give no reason to hope that the rights of returning Rohingya would be protected, or that the reasons for their original flight no longer exist," James Gomez, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, said in a statement Tuesday. "The Rohingya have an absolute right to return to and reside in Myanmar, but there must be no rush to return people to a system of apartheid. Any forcible returns would be a violation of international law."

About 650,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh since last August, when Myanmar forces launched a scorched earth campaign against Rohingya villages in Rakhine state in response to attacks on Myanmar police outposts by Rohingya militants.