Burma: Government Formulates Rohingya Repatriation Plan: Minister

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Burma’s Immigration and Population Minister Khin Yi told DVB yesterday the government has promulgated a policy aimed at repatriating Rohingya refugees who recently fled violence in western Burma.

“Regarding the Bengalis who left across the border, we have policies to accept them back,” said Khin Yi, who referred to the Rohingya’s as Bengalis.

“Basically, they should [be able to prove] that they really left from Burma and that they are willing to come back. For children, they should be able to prove that both their parents went [to Bangladesh] from Burma. We are ready to repatriate anyone who meets these requirements.”

The minister said the deal had been discussed with the Bangladeshi government.

Meanwhile, the RNDP’s chairman Dr Aye Maung said that according to the 1982 citizenship law, only those who have inhabited the region prior to 1824 should be legally considered an ethnic native and that the ‘Bengalis’ are just immigrants who came in to Burma [after British colonisation].

The year 1824, when the British conquered large swathes of western Burma, including present day Arakan state, often serves as a demarcation date in the debate concerning who is native to the area.

Dr Aye Maung also said that President Thein Sein should clarify the government’s position on the Rohingya and state that the group is not from Burma during his trip to Bangladesh next month.

“Just like the Bangladeshi prime minister said – they have made clear that [Rohingyas] aren’t their citizens, so we hope our president will also make clear that they aren’t ours either,” said Dr Aye Maung.

On 26 June, the RNDP published a statement calling for the isolation and eventual expulsion of Rohingya’s from Burma.

“The Bengalis have been entering Arakan state over time through various illegal means and their population currently has reached very alarming numbers,” read the statement.

There are an estimated 800,000 Rohingyas living in Burma.

The RNDP went on to call “for all ethnic nationalities in the Union [of Burma] to join hands in preventing the Bengalis from intruding by various means into Arakan state and the whole of Burma” and asked the UN and the international community to “set up a time frame to resettle to the Bengalis who are not Burmese citizens to a third country”.

– Aye Nai contributed reporting to this article.

Democratic Voice of Burma

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) is a non-profit Burmese media organization committed to responsible journalism.

5 thoughts on “Burma: Government Formulates Rohingya Repatriation Plan: Minister

  • June 30, 2012 at 11:29 am
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    Yes, I agree. The so called Rohingya’s are Bangalis. If Bangladesh do not want their own people, hmm…, let me think what the solution is! in the 70s, when we were about to succeed sending them back to Bangladesh, Bangladesh sic Qaddafi and his Petrol $$ on us. That now makes them Bangla-Libyans? Please ask these so called Rohingya. I bet they would rather go to Libya and either Myanmar or Bangladesh (the west being so heartlessly closed to them, of course…)

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  • June 30, 2012 at 12:20 pm
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    What a shockingly intolerant bunch of racists the newly liberated residents of Myanmar are turning out to be. Apparently, rather than being active participants in the modern ethnically diverse high-education and technology world, their true desire is to have several hundred impoverished and backward Bantustans, each solely inhabited by a particular “ethnic” group, who will all have to be tested for “pure” genetic material it would seem.

    So even if your family has resided in what is now called Mynamar since 1824, that’s about 7 generations, you are not a citizen or legal resident (that is, unless you are somehow sort of Chinese or Buddhist and wandered across the borders to the north anytime afte 1824).

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  • July 1, 2012 at 10:56 pm
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    Muslims in Myanmar are Bengali from Bangladesh is completely wrong, mistake and incorrect because Rohingyas are not from Bangladesh they are from Arakan, Burma.

    But it is correct and universal truth that many Rohingya Muslims are right now illeagaly in Bangladesh to save their lives from the brutal Burmese and Rakhine oppression and torture. Rohingyas are not stateless, their one and only state is Arakan, but they are made stateless by the cruel and brutal Burmese Government and by their half brother Rakhines.

    We are strange to see the incorrect statement viewed by different racist people and making stories, trying to brand Rohingyas as the illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It is 100% wrong and bogus.

    Yes, it is completely true in case of Rakhine Maughs who are encouraged to migrate by the Military Government and worst racist policy makers of Burma to make the settlements, seizing and confiscating the lands and properties of helpless Rohingyas.
    We are 100% sure and challenging, if the world community, united nation, European and American surveyor and investigator perform the survey physically they will get all the Rohingyas are the Rohingya, they were and they are from Arakan.

    But on the other hand if they survey about Rakhines in Western Burma they will surely get thousands and thousands of Rakhine Maughs illegally migrated from Teknaf, Nilla Chowdhury Para, Cox’s Bazar, Mohish Khali, Kutubdia and Naikhongchari of Bangladesh, who are now leagal automatic citizens of Burma and illegally enjoying the land and properties of innocent helpless Rohingyas.

    Now we ask and object the racist leaders and their followers do you accept it? If not let us send the surveyors and investigators to Bangladesh and Western Burma from the United Nation, Europe and America to figure it out who is right and who is wrong and bogus.

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  • July 5, 2012 at 10:08 am
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    The issues of Rohingyas in regard to the right of nationality/citizen shall be referred to the UN, and I suggest UNDP’s Charman to do it as an urgent basis; the UNDP is Buddhist Rakhine party, which won 18 state Assemly members out of 47 members.And it failed to form Rakhine State Government because of the Muslim Rohingya who voted the President Thein Sein’ Party USDP, which formed the Rakhine State Government. The Rakhine People have ulterior motive to separate Arakan State from Myanmar, but obstacle is The Muslim Rohingya. So, the Rakhine always influence Central Burmese Military that the Muslims are Buddhists’ enemy. Because the same religion,i.e., therea Wada Buddhism, the central Myanmar Government or military incline to accept the Rakhine version’s enemity against the Rohingyas. You know the former repressive regime (Ne Win’s Regime)amended the Burmese original Constitution relating to citizenship clauses, how many times? Three times, i.e., in 1948, 1974 and 1982, just to revoke the Rohingyas’ citizenship’s rights because of the anger and wooriness that the Muslim one day might ask independent state for them in the area they live in. Some politically immature Rohingya leaders, in 1948, had innocently and out of desperation contributed those anger and worrisome of the Central Burmese regime. It is simple that the RNDP’s chairman or President can call British government as witness at the UN. If the Rohingya Muslims can not establish their rights to citizenship as per the UN laws, then the Rohingya s have no rights to live in Burma. If the RNDP can not establish their against the Rohingyas, they shall share the cake together. t.q.

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  • July 14, 2012 at 8:55 pm
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    Once again, thanks to the racist Rakhines and Burmese politicians, racism is running amok in Arakan. The Rakhine Buddhists are coerced by these politicians to say that Rohingyas are Bangladeshi intruders. That is a blatant lie. The origin of Muslims in the shores of Arakan, similar to those in Chittagong and coastal territories of Bangladesh and Malabar are at least a thousand year old.
    Aye Maung’s comments are hateful, untrue and full of bigotry.

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