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Myanmar to take back only recent refugees UNHCR to be involved in Rohingya repatriation process: FM
Myanmar will take back only those Rohingyas who escaped to Bangladesh after the violence on Oct 9, 2016 and Aug 25 2017. On Saturday, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali informed the media about his recent to Myanmar and said that a Rohingya repatriation agreement has been signed with the Southeast Asian nation on November 23. He also said the UNHCR will take part in the process of repatriating the Rohingya refugees to their own country.The Minister mentioned that both Myanmar and Bangladesh has agreed to take help from the UNHCR regarding the repatriation process and he hopes that this process will start within two months. At a press conference, the Foreign Minister said that the main thing is to send the Rohingyas back to their homeland and the repatriation will be done in a proper time frame. He commented that the deal did not hamper Bangladesh at all. There will also be a scope for UN agencies and international community to take part in the repatriation process, he said. He remarked that if any problem or complication arises then both countries will come forward and fix it through discussions.
He further said that A Joint Working Group will be formed within three weeks of signing the agreement.The Minister informed that till now 6,22,000 Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh after the attack in Myanmar on August 25. He added that this deal only covers the people of Rakhine State who crossed Bangladesh after Oct 9, 2016 and Aug 25, 2017. According to the agreement, the governments will arrange safety, security and dignity options for the Rohingyas after their verified return to Myanmar. The deal includes the following criteria for the repatriation process. Firstly, the returnees must be residents of Myanmar. Then they have to voluntarily wish to return to Myanmar. The members of split families and their left-behind members, and orphans need to be certified by a court of Bangladesh. Both parents of additional offspring born on the other side of the border must be residents of Myanmar. Lastly, children born out of unwarranted incidents are to be certified by a court of Bangladesh. The Foreign Minister said in a meeting that Myanmar will keep the Rohingyas in temporary camps near their abandoned homes. Lastly, he mentioned that Bangladesh advised Myanmar to take help from India and China regarding the camps for the Rohingyas.
Source: NTV, BDnews24 and DailyStar