Myanmar govt to welcome refugees

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

NAYOIYDAW; Myanmar will take back some of its refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh, an official said today, adding that hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingyas will not be covered by the deal.

The agreement to repatriate Myanmar refugees was reached at a meeting earlier this month between President Thein Sein and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a senior immigration ministry official said.
“Those refugees from Bangladesh who meet four key criteria will be allowed to come back,” the official said, adding that Myanmar expected around 2,500 refugees would meet the conditions, which include legally proving citizenship.

Ethnic Rohingyas will not be included in the repatriation as they are not Myanmar citizens but Bengalis who migrated around the time of the Second World War when both countries were under British rule, he added.

Described by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities on earth, the Rohingya have no legal right to own land in Myanmar and are banned from marrying or travelling without permission.

Every year, thousands of Rohingya stream across the border into Muslim-majority Bangladesh from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.

Bangladesh, which views the Rohingya as economic migrants and has repeatedly called on Myanmar to take them back, said the latest refugee deal “was nothing new”, Dhaka’s foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes said.

Some 28,000 Rohingya are recognised as registered refugees and live and receive aid at an official UN camp in Bangladesh.

This figure is a fraction of the 200,000 to 300,000 unofficial refugees, according to government estimates.

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