Myanmar, Bangladesh cut deal
Countries agree in principle to help Rohingya return home
Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to work together to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees, officials said, but details remain thin as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since August 25, when Rohingya insurgent attacks sparked a ferocious military response by the Myanmar army that the UN has called ethnic cleansing.
At a meeting in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw, the countries signed two agreements covering security and border cooperation.
The two sides have agreed “to halt the outflow of Myanmar residents to Bangladesh,” and “to form a joint working group,” Tin Myint, permanent secretary of Myanmar’s home affairs ministry told reporters after the meetings.
“After a joint working group, the verification, [the] two countries have agreed to arrange different steps so that these people can return to their homeland safely and honorably and in secure conditions,” said Mostafa Kamal Uddin, secretary of the Bangladeshi home affairs ministry.
The officials did not elaborate on steps toward repatriation as discussions were mostly dedicated to border agreements, they said.
Tin Myint said the two countries agreed “to restore normalcy in Rakhine to enable displaced Myanmar residents to return from Bangladesh at the earliest opportunity.”
He also said Myanmar had sent a list of suspects who had fled to Bangladesh and requested authorities to investigate and return them to Myanmar.
Thousands of refugees have continued to arrive across the Naf River separating Myanmar’s western Rakhine state and Bangladesh in recent days, even though Myanmar says military operations ceased September 5.
The US said on Monday it was considering a range of further actions over Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
While on Tuesday the officials said the talks were friendly, tensions are still high between the two countries. Bangladesh last month accused Myanmar of repeatedly violating its airspace and warned any more “provocative acts” could have “unwarranted consequences.”
On border and security, the two sides decided to establish border liaison offices, carry out regular meetings between the two security forces, jointly combat drug trafficking across the border and set up a direct communication mechanism.
Bangladesh has for decades faced influxes of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhistmajority Myanmar where the Rohingya are seen as illegal migrants. It was already home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya before the latest crisis.
Though Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are denied citizenship and access to basic civil rights such as freedom of movement, decent education and healthcare.