Bangladesh and Myanmar officials will meet on Monday to discuss how to implement the Rohingya repatriation deal.
“Bangladesh authorities had assured us that Myanmar would give us back our rights, that we would be able to live peacefully,” said Hamid Hussain, a 71-year-old Rohingya Muslim farmer resided in Rohingya refugee camp.
“We went back but nothing changed. I will go back again only if our rights and safety are guaranteed - forever.”
Rohingyas are denied citizenship, freedom of movement and access to many basic services such as healthcare and education in Buddhist majority Myanmar.
The authorities have said returnees could apply for citizenship if they can show their forebears have lived in Myanmar.
The latest deal, however, does not guarantee citizenship and it is unclear how many would qualify.
Monday’s meeting in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw will be the first for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the November repatriation agreement.
Reuters says, two senior Bangladesh officials who are involved in the talks acknowledged that much was left to be resolved and it was unclear when the first refugees could actually return.
“Any return is chaotic and complex,” said Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh’s top foreign ministry official who will lead Dhaka’s 14-member team in the talks. “The challenge is to create an environment conducive for their return.”
Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said returnees would be able to apply for citizenship “after they pass the verification process”.
Zaw Htay added that Myanmar had proposed that a group of 500 Hindus who fled to Bangladesh and have already agreed to be repatriated, alongside 500 Muslims, could form the first batch of returnees.
“The first repatriation is important - we can learn from the experiences, good or bad,” he said.
Bangladesh officials said they would begin the process this month by sharing with Myanmar authorities a list of 100,000 Rohingya, picked at random from among registered refugees.
