Bangladesh’s acting Foreign secretary Kamrul Ahsan hands over a fresh name list of 25,000 Rohingyas individuals consisting of 6,000 families to the Myanmar envoys in the eve of their two-day visit.
The meeting was held between Bangladesh foreign ministry officials, led by Kamrul, and the Myanmar team, led by the country’s Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Myint Thu.
“I asked them [Rohingyas] that this is the right time for them to consider whether they should go back or not because we explained to them the key issues. So, this is their personal decision,” he told reporters.
On the slow progress of repatriation from the Myanmar side, Myint Thu claimed they have been ready for the repatriation since January 23, 2018.
“We’re ready to welcome them. We’re ready to receive them. But the only thing is they have to decide it by themselves. We’ve provided them with information. We’ve heard their voices and concerns.”
Apparently, the Myanmar government will consider Rohingyas as foreign nationals, said Myanmar Foreign Secretary Myint Thu to reporters after a meeting with Hindu Rohingyas at the Kutupalong D-4 camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia on Sunday.
With an explanation he added under the current citizenship law enacted in 1982, there are three types of citizenships. According to it, whoever has been living in Myanmar for three generations would be entitled to get “naturalized citizenship”. Even if the Rohingyas are not direct Myanmar citizens, they will be allowed to live legally in Myanmar as foreign citizens according to clause three of the citizenship act, Myint Thu said, adding that in this process they will get a national ID card.
Whereas the history tells, the Rohingya people are primarily Muslim, though a small number are Hindu living in the Western coast of Myanmar known as Rakhine State for generations dates back to 8th Century. During dictator General Ne Win’s era, Myanmar identified 135 distinct ethnic groups and deliberately excluded the Rohingya. The Rohingyas have gradually snitched all their rights, including their citizenship and currently, they are considered illegal immigrants by Myanmar.
After the brutal military crackdown, Rohingyas demand were they want the guarantee of citizenship, freedom of movement, recognition of ethnic identity and return to their place of origin from where they were uprooted.
According to a Reuters news with regard to Myanmar preparation to Rohingya repatriation, it quoted Nathan Ruser, one of the researchers at ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre “The continued destruction of residential areas across 2018 and 2019 – clearly identifiable through our longitudinal satellite analysis – raises serious questions about the willingness of the Myanmar government to facilitate a safe and dignified repatriation process.”
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