Dhaka Tribune
At least 688,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh fleeing the
violence which erupted in Myanmar on August 25, 2017
The government has signed an agreement with the UN
refugee agency to exchange information about the Rohingyas who entered the
country fleeing the violence in Myanmar.
The Foreign Ministry signed the agreement with UNHCR.
As per the agreement, a combined database will be created
with the information collected by the government during the biometric
registration, and the data of the Rohingya families collected by UN’s refugee
agency.
A government official said: “Bangladesh and Myanmar have
agreed to include the UN refugee agency in the repatriation process of the
Rohingyas.
“We wanted to sign an agreement with them [UNHCR]
regarding the repatriation process. The agreement was supposed to have clauses
regarding exchange of data.
“Currently, exchange of data had become very important,
so we decided to sign an agreement regarding it.”
Regarding the agreement related to repatriation, he said:
“It is still in draft stage. We are hoping to sign it in the first week of
February.
In September 2017, the government started biometric
registration of the Rohingyas. Information of over 1,000,000 Rohingyas have
been collected till date.
Till December 23, 2017, UNHCR collected information about
761,328 Rohingyas belonging to some 175,558 families.
They also have the list of 640,269 Rohingyas who have
entered Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. These displaced Rohingyas belong to
some 148,358 families.
“The government will run a campaign with the help of UN
agencies to inspire the Rohingyas to return to Rakhine, ” said another
government official.
The official said: “If we ask them [Rohingya] whether
they want to return or not, then most of them might say no.
“But if the situation in Rakhine improves, and the
repatriation of the first batch becomes successful then most of them will be
inspired.”
Bangladesh has so far signed three agreements with
Myanmar regarding the repatriation of the Rohingyas. Bangladesh has emphasized
on the rights of the Rohingyas in all the three agreements.
The official said: “We want a permanent solution to the
issue so that they [Rohingya] do not come back, and for that we need to ensure
their security and fundamental rights.”
Regarding the time needed for the repatriation, the
government employee said: “The family based data will first be sent to Myanmar.
“If possible, they will scrutinize it with two months.
The repatriation process will start within a month after the Myanmar government
informs us about it.”
“For instance, if we send a list to Myanmar today then
the repatriation will start after three months,” the official added.
According to the repatriation deal signed by the
governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar on November 23, 2017, only the Rohingyas
who entered Bangladesh after 2016 will be eligible for repatriation.
At least 688,000 Rohingyas entered Bangladesh fleeing the
violence which erupted in Myanmar on August 25, 2017, says Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF).
Due to similar unrest, more than 85,000 Rohingya escaped
into Bangladesh in October 2016. Before the recent refugee influx, Bangladesh
was already harbouring around 300,000 displaced Rohingyas.
The refugees and rights groups have accused Myanmar
security forces of torture, rape, murder, arson and loot – charges the army
denies. The UN has denounced the violence as ‘ethnic cleansing.’
Médecins Sans Frontières has said over 6,700 Rohingyas,
including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the first
month of the crackdown in the northern Rakhine state.