Myanmar assures Bangladesh of quick Rohingya repatriation

Amid no visible progress over Rohingya repatriation, Myanmar on Thursday assured Bangladesh of accelerating verification process to start repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar, reports UNB.

"We're here for that and we'll accelerate the (verification) process," permanent secretary at Myanmar foreign ministry Myint Thu told newsmen when his attention was drawn about delay in Rohingya verification process.

Bangladesh handed over a list of 1,673 Rohingya families (8,032 individuals) to Myanmar on 16 February to start the first phase of repatriation of Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Myanmar has so far verified less than 900 Rohingyas out of 8,032 names of Rohingyas after verification in several steps.

Myint Thu said they will work hand in hand with Bangladesh to address the challenges and hoped that they will start the repatriation in the near future.

Earlier, Bangladesh and Myanmar held a marathon meeting at state guesthouse Meghna that continued even after lunch starting from 11:00am.

Foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque and his Myanmar counterpart Myint Thu led their respective sides at the meeting.

Myint Thu said they need to work to promote awareness about repatriation and mentioned that they will be providing information to Bangladesh regarding repatriation complexities.

"We'll be having more meeting and then we'll set out mechanism to commence repatriation," he said.

Terming Rohingya repatriation very complex and difficult, Bangladesh said it is trying to work together with Myanmar for quick repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

"You know such repatriation is always very complex and difficult matter. But we feel this repatriation starts as early as possible. We don't have any disagreement over it," foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque told the newsmen at state guesthouse Meghna on Thursday afternoon.

"There is progress in our discussion. Both Bangladesh and Myanmar sides realised the need for quick repatriation of Rohingyas," he said adding that they discussed all the issues related to Rohingya repatriation.

The foreign secretary said both sides - Bangladesh and Myanmar - are trying to work together to make sure that repatriation process gets expedited.

Responding to a question, whether Bangladesh will hand over a new list of Rohingyas, he said, "Let's hope for the best. We're hopeful."

"We raised all issues. We wanted to know what they are doing in Rakhine state for the smooth return of Rohingyas," a senior official, who attended the meeting, told UNB.

He said the Myanmar side could not give any satisfactory reply on many issues Bangladesh side raised.

Responding to a question, the official said Myanmar could not complete verification of first list. "So, there's no hurry to place the second list. I don't know how much time they will take to verify others mentioned in the first list."

The joint working group, dedicated to overseeing the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar, sat in meeting again after the lunch to identify ways for expediting the verification and repatriation process of Rohingyas.

The JWG held the first meeting in Myanmar on 15 January.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation agreement on 23 November last year.

 On 16 January, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on 'Physical Arrangement' which will facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh.

The 'Physical Arrangement' stipulates that the repatriation will be completed preferably within two years from the start of repatriation.

Bangladesh currently has a Rohingya population, which is far more than Bhutan's entire population.

Bhutan has around 800,000 people whereas Bangladesh had to give shelter to some 1.2 million Rohingyas.