The repatriation agreement has till date been a huge failure. Quite predictably, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has pointed the finger of blame to Bangladesh. Everyone outside Myanmar believe it is the other way round. Numerous reports by international organisations including the UN, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have pointed out the ground situation in Arakan does not in any way allow for a safe and sustainable repatriation programme.
Reeling under unexpected international pressure, Myanmar wants to show the world that some sort of voluntary reparation is taking place.
Enter the tabbeys (collaborators), the Rohingyas who had joined hands with the regime and worked against their own community. The Rohingya situation is controlled by the Western Command of the Tatmadaw, whose officers had devised the system of collaborators, known in the Rohingya language as tabbeys, the pro regime men who informed on their own people, and functioned as the eyes and ears for the government. The tabbeys also worked under the command of the Hlun Htein forces.
However, the military led operations of 2017 was spearheaded by the 33rd and 99th Light Infantry Divisions (LID)s. The LID of Myanmar has the role of crushing any internal dissent, and are especially deployed against the myriad ethnic populations who have long been waging a freedom struggle against the government. In 1988, they were also used to crush the democratic uprising. The LIDs are under the direct control of the leading Generals, the chief of them being Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The nature of the LIDs is to kill, and kill indiscriminately with the objective of crushing dissent. Soldiers from the 33rd and 99th were commanded to fire rockets and machine gunfire at civilian areas, without taking notice of anyone, their sole objective being to kill ‘anything Bengali’ and drive them to Bangladesh. Incidentally the military, like much of the Burmese populace refers to the Rohingya as Bengali. In face of indiscriminate firepower, the tabbeys and their families often had no choice but to flee for Bangladesh to save their lives. Their traditional points of contact with the regime that had guaranteed them safety from the state forces was overshadowed by the brute force of the 33rd and 99th.
But the tabbeys had enjoyed a relatively comfortable position in Arakan before 2017. Their standard of living was much better than the ordinary Rohingya. They hold land and property in Arakan, and due to their former friendship with regime forces, some still hope to get it back.
From Myanmar’s side, it makes diplomatic sense to have some of the Rohingyas back. Most of the population would not be voluntarily repatriated at this point and it is not in Myanmar’s interest to do so, as the regime has been trying to get rid of the Rohingyas for half a century and has succeeded in doing so last year. But Myanmar needs to show the international community they are working for the return of the Rohingya. Suu Kyi’s policy of continuously blaming her Bangladeshi counterparts is proving increasingly futile and unless there is at the very least some sort of voluntary repatriation, both the civilian and military rulers of Myanmar shall lose whatever little credibility they have left. Some form of repatriation will allow Suu Kyi more space to carry out what is by now Burmese state policy – – blame Bangladesh and Bengalis for anything that goes wrong.
Elements of the Sa Ya Pa (Burmese military intelligence) have certainly maintained active contacts with some of their people in Bangladesh. Through their networks, they had given the intended message to at least some of the tabbeys – – bygones should be bygones. Many tabbeys will of course prefer the vast hillside country of Arakan over the life in the overpopulated refugee camps, if they are given life security.
Some of the numerous NGOs working in the refugee camps of Bangladesh are allegedly in league with the Myanmar government. In the name of voluntary repatriation and ethnic reconciliation, they are also giving a similar message that will encourage some of the Rohingyas to return voluntarily. All evidence points out that Myanmar will benefit from a small band of repatriated Rohingyas who will work against the interests of their own nation from within.
