Myanmar will take back only those refugees who entered Bangladesh following the violence on Oct 9, 2016 and Aug 25 this year, said Foreign Minister (FM) AH Mahmood Ali on Saturday.
The FM said it reporters while briefing the media on his recent trip to Myanmar and a Rohingya repatriation agreement signed with the Southeast Asian nation on Nov 23.
The deal covers only the residents of Rakhine State who have crossed over to Bangladesh after Oct 9, 2016 and Aug 25, 2017.
It does not cover the Rohingyas who were residing in Bangladesh before the recent influx, said Mahmood.
The governments would arrange for the voluntary return in ‘safety, security and dignity with options for recommencing livelihood’ after they had been verified to be Myanmar residents, the agreement says.
The deal outlines the criteria for repatriation:
(i) Returnees must be residents of Myanmar
(ii) Returnees must be the ones who voluntarily wish to return to Myanmar by themselves
(iii) The members of split families and their left-behind members, and orphans need to be certified by a court of Bangladesh
(iv) Both parents of additional offspring born on the other side of the border must be residents of Myanmar
(iv) Children born out of unwarranted incidents are to be certified by a court of Bangladesh
A joint working group is to be formed to oversee all aspects of the repatriation within three weeks of the agreement’s signing. The repatriation process will begin in two months.
The Rohingya minority in Myanmar fled across the border to Bangladesh amid fear of persecution following insurgent attacks on border police on Oct 9, 2016 and Aug 25, 2017.
The attack on Oct 9 led to the deaths of nine Myanmar police personnel, while the Aug 24 attack resulted in the death of 12 security force personnel and 59 insurgents.