Need more verification time for Rohingya repatriation, says Myanmar minister

Myanmar Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye says more time is needed to verify people before beginning the repatriation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, reports Radio Free Asia.

Aye is set to visit Bangladesh on Apr 11 and Apr 12 for a meeting with the ministers of foreign affairs and home affairs. Aye says he also plan to visit the refugee camps if possible.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have fled across the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state during a military crackdown that began in late August last year in response to deadly insurgent attacks on police outposts in the region.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed agreements for the return of refugees who volunteer to go back to Myanmar. Myanmar says it has ‘verified’ only 500 or so of the initial list of 8,000 provided by the Bangladesh authorities.

Aye says the delay is caused by forms that were filled out incorrectly.

“If the process goes according to the agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar and if the refugees filled out the forms according to the agreement, it shouldn’t be delayed,” he told Radio Free Asia in an interview.

The process would go faster if the forms had been properly filled out, he said. The issue is to be discussed during Aye’s Bangladesh trip.

“That’s why we needed more time to verify people. We sent a list of those whom we could verify to Bangladesh, but we haven’t heard anything back yet,” the minister said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar will maintain a good relationship and work together on this issue, he said.

His visit would allow for authorities from both countries to cooperate more smoothly, he added.