Myanmar plans ‘indefinite detention’ for some Rohingyas : HRW

YANGON, Oct 3 (AFP): Myanmar's plans to force stateless Rohingya to be identified as "Bengali"-a term seen as disparaging-for citizenship will leave those who refuse facing "indefinite detention" or deportation, Human Rights Watch has warned.

The Rakhine Action Plan was touted by Myanmar's foreign minister as a major part of efforts to bring "harmony" to the conflict-torn western state in comments to the United Nations this week.

But a draft document, seen by AFP, would see the state's around one million Muslim Rohingya forced to take on the label Bengali-which many see as referring to the widely-held view that they are illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Those who refuse to comply and those without the requisite documentation to complete the citizenship process would be held in "temporary camps in required numbers", according to the document.

The government would then attempt to "resettle the illegal aliens elsewhere", it said.

HRW said this would amount to "arbitrary, indefinite detention with the possibility of deportation".

Rakhine remains deeply scarred by two bouts of bloodshed in 2012 that left over 200 dead and some 140,000 homeless and trapped in miserable displacement camps.