Myanmar is prioritizing the repatriation of
scores of people who fled violence in northern Rakhine state for Bangladesh, a
senior official from the country said on Saturday, the fifth day of debate in
the UN General Assembly.
Some 900,000 mainly Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have sought shelter in the Cox’s Bazar region in south-eastern Bangladesh following military operations two years ago.
Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar’s Union Minister for
the Office of the State Counsellor, said repatriations would be carried out in
line with a November 2017 agreement with Bangladesh.
“Our priority now is to expedite repatriation
and to create a more conducive environment for verified returnees,” he said,
highlighting cooperation with Bangladesh, the UN and the Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN), among others.
Qualified returnees to receive citizenship
cards
Mr. Swe said displaced people who had been
living in Rakhine state “have a different legal status.”
Those who qualify for citizenship will be
issued with citizenship cards. The rest will receive National Verification
Cards which he likened to the “green card” issued to immigrants in the United
States.
Mr. Swe said Government efforts to bring
peace and stability to Rakhine state “predate the violent attacks by the ARSA
(Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) terrorist group in 2016 and 2017 that
triggered off the current humanitarian crisis.”
Some 300 people have already returned to
Myanmar of their own volition “despite obstacles, including killings and
threats by ARSA,” he said.
The Minister dismissed demands to establish a
“safe zone” in Myanmar as “neither warranted, nor workable.”
#Bangladesh - #PM Addresses General Debate,
74th Session https://youtu.be/mnqnwjr7JeQ
He called on Bangladesh to faithfully
implement the bilateral agreement, which he described as “the only feasible way
to resolve the issue of the displaced persons.”
Military investigation underway
Regarding accountability for the events in
Rakhine state, Mr. Swe reported that a military investigation is currently
underway.
“A recent announcement suggests that there
will soon be a court martial,” he added.
Mr. Swe also addressed an International
Criminal Court (ICC) request to authorize an investigation into alleged crimes
in Rakhine State.
However, he said “independent scholars have
already identified the request is problematic in that it excludes alleged
crimes committed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, with deliberate
omission of the undisputed fact that their actions precipitated the current
displacement.”
Other concerns cited include that the ICC
Prosecutor “relies heavily on human rights reports” which contain “factual
errors” on both national and international law.
In Mr. Swe’s view, the ICC Prosecutor is
focused on the outflow from Rakhine state yet remains “silent” on what he
called “the broader picture” behind the displacement, as well as the various
parties involved.
“This silence widens the divide between the
International Criminal Court and the people of Myanmar who have been made to
feel that their concerns are of less import than the perceptions of influential
nations and organizations acquainted but superficially with the true situation
on the ground,” he said.
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Don’t forget to read more below:
Rohingya Refugees risk going back to another
Genocide in Myanmar https://lnkd.in/gfnRqfE
UN FFM Report: 600,000 Rohingya still in
Myanmar at 'serious risk of genocide': https://lnkd.in/grp4Gvg