Safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas

Delay in repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to their homeland was inevitable considering the fact that so far preparations for ensuring their safe and dignified return are incomplete. The situation gets more complicated as increasing brutality on the Rohingyas in the Rakhaine state of Myanmar is being highlighted in the media. One example is the recent disclosure of the existence of several mass graves in Rakhaine state where Rohingya civilians were buried following their killing by the security forces.

The arrangement signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar in November last year stipulates that both the government would ensure safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas by January 22, 2018. But the process has been stalled in the face of strong opposition from all the stakeholders who believe that the environment for safe and dignified return of the displaced Rohingyas is yet to be in place.

Since August 25, 2017, nearly 0.7 million Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, fleeing their native homes in Rakhaine in the face of unprecedented carnage unleashed by the Myanmar security forces. Humanitarian organisations opine that ensuring safe environment will be possible only when there would be a total transformation of Myanmar's policy towards the Rohingyas. International humanitarian organisations including UNHCR, the Amnesty International and HRW said, if the refugees are sent back, they will face the same miserable conditions that they had fled from.

So, the way out is to resolve the issues that are deeply interwoven with the present crisis. Negotiating the issue of citizenship of Rohingyas is at the heart of the prevailing crisis. Myanmar provides three kinds of citizenships - normal citizenship, associate citizenship and naturalised citizenship. The Rohingyas are provided with none. Some of them were granted the status of 'foreign residents' which deprived them of the rights of a normal citizen. They have long been treated as outsiders in largely Buddhist Myanmar, derided as "Bengalis". Even though for some generations they have been living in Myanmar, nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, rendering them stateless.

The second important issue is that they should be allowed to regain ownership of their native homes and lands they had to flee from in the face of repression.

And finally, those who perpetrated the crime against humanity in Rakhaine should be brought to book. If they are allowed to get away with their heinous crimes, the Rohingyas will not feel motivated to go back to a place where killing them is no offence at all.

Beside engaging international organisations to monitor the process, another important thing is to incorporate the opinion and views of the Rohingya refugees while formulating the action plan for their repatriation. It is crucial to define the term 'safe and dignified return' and without hearing their opinion one cannot define what should be the criteria of a 'safe return'. After all voluntary return depends on building trust and instilling a sense of confidence in the minds of the Rohingyas.

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