( 21.03.2018 ) Confirmation of more returnees

                                                   Confirmation of more returnees

March 20, 2018

After reviewing the names, photos and home villages of 8,032 displaced persons sent by Bangladesh, 193 more persons were identified as having lived in Myanmar as of 19 March, officials said.

A Myanmar-Bangladesh ministerial-level meeting was held at the meeting hall of the Ministry of the Office of the State Counsellor on 22 November 2017, and the two countries signed an arrangement for the return of displaced persons from Rakhine State.

The first meeting of the Joint Working Group on the repatriation of displaced Myanmar residents from Bangladesh was held on 15 January 2018 in the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the physical arrangement for the repatriation of displaced Myanmar residents from Bangladesh, under the return of displaced persons from Rakhine State agreement, was signed.

According to the agreement, Myanmar will receive returnees arriving through land routes at the Taung Pyo Letwe Reception Centre, and those who return through the river routes will be received at the Nga Khu Ya Reception Centre. The Hla Pho Khaung Transit Centre has also been opened, and each camp will accept returnees five days a week. Bangladesh began sending a list of returnees in the prescribed forms on 23 January 2018.

Initially, some 508 Hindus and 750 Muslims who were already reviewed, totaling 1,258, were sent to Myanmar through Bangladesh. The 508 Hindus included in this list wished to return and the Myanmar government was informed about this by Hindu religious leaders. The Bangladesh side sent a list of the first group of returnees who wanted to return, totaling 8,032, from 1,637 households.

However, through the particulars provided on the list, it could not be verified if the returnees were coming back of their own will, and the proposed returnees had not signed any agreements to follow the existing laws of Myanmar. The forms did not have a signature or a thumb print to validate the information provided about the person mentioned in the form. Serial numbers, form entry dates, and distinguishing marks or thumb prints of the head of households were absent. It did not mention if these persons held Myanmar cards and identities. There was no mention of the parents of the head of the household or their addresses, so it was not possible to verify who they were. A photograph of each household members was taken biometrically when they were in Myanmar, so the assessment could be made easily, but the photographs of the returnees provided were not of the quality required. The family list did not include the father’s name. Therefore, Bangladesh was requested to provide a detailed and complete list of the particulars of the 8,032 people wishing to return on 8 March 2018. When the particulars of the 8,032 returnees that were sent without the prescribed papers were evaluated, only 363 persons were found to have lived in Myanmar. The assessment was continued, and as of 19 March, 193 more were found to have lived in Myanmar. Of the 8,032 persons in the list, only 556 were found to have lived in Myanmar.

Arrangements were made so that their photographs and thumb prints could be evaluated using computer software. However, the list provided did not have the required particulars, such as the photographs, thumb prints and addresses, and took considerable time to compare the available information.

The 556 who were already reviewed and checked will be accepted when Bangladesh sends them over.