Myanmar’s military head and chair of State Administration Council Gen. Min Aung Hlaing indicated in a recent interview that, the chances of Rohingya refugee repatriation and recognizing them as Rohingya is tenuous.
In a question to Gen. Min Aung Hlaing by the Chinese-language Phoenix television concerning the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, he replied, “If it doesn’t comply with Myanmar’s laws, what else is there to consider? I don’t believe there is any country in the world that would go beyond their own country’s refugee laws to accept refugees.”
He also denied the fact about Rohingya’s identity and their ethnic rights by saying the term (Rohingya) only emerged since independence from Britain in 1948. He continued that, “After we gained our independence, the census also registered the words ‘Bengali’, ‘Pakistani’ and ‘Chittagong’, but never the word ‘Rohingya’, thus we never accepted it.”
Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was the head of the genocidal operation which forced the Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in 2017 to save their lives.
Photo Source: Myanmar nationals living in Thailand hold a picture denouncing Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing during a protest in front of the United Nations’ building in Bangkok, Thailand. CREDIT:AP
