Road to Rohingya repatriation is more complex than it seems

THE BUSINESS STANDARD
Ariful Hasan Shuvo
05 April, 2025

Myanmar declaring a portion of Rohingya refugees eligible for repatriation might sound like overwhelmingly good news. But in reality, they cannot return as long as the Arakan Army controls Rakhine 

Bangladesh is now home to over a million Rohingya refugees who have fled violence in Myanmar since 2017. Photo: TBS

 A Facebook post from the verified page of the Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government broke the internet on Friday. After all, it offered a ray of hope in the longstanding Rohingya crisis the country has been grappling with for over eight years now.

"Myanmar authorities have confirmed to Bangladesh that out of a list of 800,000 Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, they have identified 180,000 Rohingyas eligible for return," the post reads. 

Hope at a time of uncertainty

The Daily Star

Mokammel Shuvo

Sun Apr 6, 2025

 

Mixed reactions in Cox’s Bazar camps as Myanmar identifies 180,000 Rohingyas for return.

Following reports of Myanmar verifying 1,80,000 Rohingyas for potential repatriation, a wave of mixed feelings has washed over the camps in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char.

Although many Rohingyas express a strong desire to return to their homeland safely, they remain apprehensive of Myanmar's ability to guarantee security.

Experts: Follow up steps should start on Rohingya repatriation after Myanmar’s assurance

Dhaka Tribune
Publish : 05 Apr 2025

Myanmar has informed Bangladesh that out of 800,000 Rohingyas in the country, 180,000 have been identified as eligible to return.

File image of Rohingya camp. Photo: Dhaka Tribune- BSS

Foreign relations experts on Saturday said follow up talks should start quickly on Rohingya repatriation as Myanmar has confirmed out of over 1.30 million of the ethnic minority Muslim people, who took makeshift refuge in Bangladesh were 180,000 are eligible to return.

Hasan Mahmud seeks OIC's continuous support for Rohingya repatriation

The Daily Star
BSS, Dhaka
Fri May 31, 2024

                                                    Photo: BSS

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has sought continuous support from the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to ensure the safe and sustainable repatriation of nearly 1.3 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

Wait for Rohingya repatriation gets even longer

The Daily Star
Porimol Palma, Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
Mon Jan 29, 2024 

With the escalation of conflict in Myanmar, the possibility of Rohingya repatriation materialising anytime soon has become remote, heaping the challenges for the Bangladesh government in managing the displaced people in the face of shrinking humanitarian aid for them.

Meeting today to repatriate Rohingyas by December

Prothum Alo------
Diplomatic Correspondent
Dhaka
Updated: 04 Sep 2023

The issue of starting repatriation in smaller scale by December under a trilateral initiative mediated by China will be discussed in the meeting.

• This is the first time a delegation from Bangladesh has gone for talks since the junta assumed power in Myanmar.

• Bangladesh will place stress on measures to be taken by Myanmar to restore the confidence of the Rohingyas.

• A list of more than 3,000 Rohingyas have been provided with the goal of starting pilot repatriation project.

Rohingya influx from Myanmar,Reuters

Following a gap of more than four years, Bangladesh is about to hold discussions in Myanmar on starting Rohingya repatriation. The director general-level meeting will be held today, Monday in the administrative capital of Myanmar, Naypyidaw.

Bangladeshi delegation visits Myanmar to discuss Rohingya repatriation

AA
DHAKA, Bangladesh
SM Najmus Sakib
04.09.2023 

Bangladesh wants to start repatriation by December, Rohingya worry for their safety in Myanmar

A high-level delegation from Bangladesh reached Myanmar on Monday to lead a Chinese-mediated meeting on Rohingya repatriation.

A list of over 3,000 Rohingya under a pilot program has been sent to Myanmar to verify and a possible repatriation could begin under the mediation of China, according to Bangladeshi officials.

Prospect of Rohingya repatriation and options for Bangladesh

Financial Express
A military analysis
Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman
Published :Aug 16, 2023

It has been six years since the massive exodus of Rohingyas took place in August 2017. Initially it was perceived that Myanmar cannot get away for very long with atrocities and crime against humanity of such magnitude. Despite regional power's support and some permanent members support in UN Security Council the condemnation of the act was overwhelming worldwide. Bangladesh's diplomatic initiative bilaterally as well as taking some members of ASEAN on board there was a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2017 between Bangladesh and Myanmar on Rohingya repatriation. In fact, that created hope among many about resolving the refugee issue quickly. To my appreciation the expulsion of Rohingyas from Rakhine was a systematic, well-orchestrated military operation. With my background I understood the drama of taking back the Rohingyas was also a portrayal of military operation. In fact, it is part of a deception plan and psychological warfare. Any military operation without political objective is a nonsensical waste of resources. Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) generals being a bunch of meritocratic cunning professionals would not waste resources.

Rohingya Repatriation: Caught Between State Failure And Armed Resistance – Analysis

eurasiareview
By IPCS
By Krishna Kumar Saha*
June 10, 2023 

Displaced Rohingya in Myanmar. Photo Credit: Tasnim News Agency

Bangladesh and Myanmar have recently initiated a repatriation programme to return Rohingya refugees to their homeland—of whom over a million live in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. These initiatives have drawn support from other countries in the region, including China. There is scepticism, however, about the effectiveness of these new initiatives, and the Bangladesh government is approaching the situation with cautious optimism. Further, given ongoing conditions in Myanmar, such as the discriminatory citizenship law and restricted mobility for Rohingya refugees, repatriation efforts are unlikely to be successful without a significant changein the state’s policies.

Myanmar’s military can’t call shots on Rohingya repatriation

daily obsever
Op-Ed
Dr Azeem Ibrahim
Published : Wednesday, 12 April, 2023 

The Rohingya refugee crisis is not over. Rohingyas fled Myanmar in 2017 and afterwards, attempting to escape the genocidal advance of the country's military. It burned their homes. It razed their villages. And it killed whomever it could find.

More than 700,000 people were forced from the country. It was an exodus not seen in more than 50 years of refugee movement by the Rohingya out of Myanmar. They had been persecuted openly since the 1970s, but never so viciously as in the stage of the genocide from 2017 on.

Rohingya repatriation: With a little help from our friend

Dhaka Tribune
Md Himel Rahman
Published: April 9, 2023 

In March 2023, the Myanmar government announced that it would start repatriating 1,140 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh from mid-April. The pilot repatriation program took off owing to the mediation of China, the Asian power that maintains close ties with both Bangladesh and Myanmar.

However, the other big regional power in South Asia, that is, India, has been so far largely inactive in the process of the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. Should India decide to display more interest in the process, it would be beneficial for Indian interests in a number of ways.

'The problem lies in Myanmar and the solution is also their responsibility'

Dhaka Tribune
Ali Asif Shawon
March 9, 2023

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman talked about the Rohingya crisis in a recent interview with Dhaka Tribune ’s Ali Asif Shawon

Rohingyas walk on a road at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Allison Joyce/Dhaka Tribune

What is the impact of the recent Rohingya aid fund cut?

Now Rohingya people will sell their cheap labor in our market and our Bangladeshi day laborers will lose their job options. It will have a chain reaction which will have the cohesion build-up process between the host and guest community decline. Social tension will arise.

Why is the humanitarian fund for Rohingya declining?

Humanitarian funds basically depend on emotion. After a certain time emotion varies. In 2017, the UN declared the Rohingya crisis a level-3 crisis, which means the topmost emergency. For example, after the earthquake, Turkey is now at level-3. Right now, the Rohingya issue is at level-2, which means a non-emergency crisis. By this time, several disasters have happened worldwide. This is why the focus has been shifted to different areas.

Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka may seek updates on Beijing's efforts

daily sun
UNB
19th October, 2022 

Bangladesh is likely to seek an update from the Chinese side on Thursday regarding its efforts to find ways for repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday morning where the Rohingya issue is likely to be raised, a senior official told UNB.

 

Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka may seek updates on Beijing's efforts

Dhaka Tribune

UNB
October 19, 2022 

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday

Bangladesh is likely to seek an update from the Chinese side on Thursday regarding its efforts to find ways for repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday morning where the Rohingya issue is likely to be raised, a senior official told UNB.

Why Is the World Ignoring Repatriation of Rohingya Refugees?

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Asif Muztaba Hassan
October 25, 2021

Refugee camps in Bangladesh have become a source of business for vested interests.

The Rohingya refugee crisis, which entered its fifth year in August, is showing no signs of winding down. Repatriation of refugees is nowhere in sight, even as management of the large number of refugees that Bangladesh is hosting is getting increasingly complex for its government.

On September 29, Mohibullah, an influential Rohingya community leader, was assassinated by unidentified men near his office in Lambasia in the Kutupalong camp, just a few hundred feet away from two police stations.

World Bank clarifies its position on Rohingya repatriation

Dhaka Tribune

Tribune Desk
August 3rd, 2021

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas who have fled their homeland in Rakhine State after being persecuted by their own country Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

The global lender recently sent a letter to ERD attaching a document detailing Rohingyas' freedom of movement, birth certificate, educational and employment opportunities, and infrastructure

The World Bank reviews its refugee policy framework every three years before mobilizing funds under the International Development Assistance window.

The international lender recently solicited input on its current policy review from 16 refugee-hosting nations, including Bangladesh.

Rohingya repatriation: Beijing to act as bridge for early results

Dhaka Tribune
UNB
June 25th, 2021

File Photo: Nearly one million Rohingyas are living in Bangladesh now since fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state in 2017 Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

Myanmar coup caught everyone by surprise, says the Chinese envoy in Dhaka

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said China will continue to serve as a “bridge of communication” and try its best to facilitate early results as Bangladesh seeks swift repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“We fully understand the keenness of Bangladesh to start repatriation, and our determination to help the two friendly neighbours resolve this long-standing issue will never change,” he said while speaking at an online symposium hosted by the Cosmos Foundation.

UK stresses Sundarbans’ protection, assures support over Rohingya repatriation

Financial Express

FE Online Report 

Published: April 14, 2021

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, British state minister for Foreign Affairs for South Asia and the Commonwealth, has underscored the importance of protecting the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, from the adverse impacts of climate change.

He made the observation during a discussion with Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

What lies ahead for the Rohingya repatriation process after Myanmar’s military coup?

moderndiplomacy

Sourav Ghosh
February 12, 2021

A young Rohingya girl holds her brother outside a youth club in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. © UNHCR/Vincent Tremeau

With much hope and greater expectations, Myanmar resumed its democratic journey in 2011, ending more than half a century of military rule. However, within just a decade, the military has once again overthrown a democratically-elected government and seized power marking the end of democratic normalcy. Myanmar’s military coup happened on February 1, 2021, the same day when the parliament was scheduled to reconvene following the general election that took place in November last year. In the election, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party scored a landslide victory in both the houses of the Parliament. The coup took place just as Suu Kyi’s party, the League for National Democracy, was prepping up to form a new government. Finally, since Myanmar is engaged in trilateral talks with Bangladesh and China on the Rohingya repatriation issue, the military coup raises the question on what does the future hold for Rohingya repatriation process now?

US hints at looking into Rakhine genocide, Rohingya repatriation: FM

Prothum Alo------  

UNB
Dhaka
Published: 26 Jan 2021, 

Migrants who were found adrift at sea in a boat are repatriated across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border at Ukhia on the outskirts of Cox's Bazar on June 8, 2015. AFP

Bangladesh on Tuesday said there are indications that the new US administration under President Joe Biden will look into the issue of genocide of Rohingyas in the Rakhine State and hopefully will proactively take action for their safe return to Myanmar.

"It's good news. There are indications," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said, adding that Rohingya problem was created by Myanmar and its solution also lies with them.

He said Bangladesh is thankful of USA’s principled stand and steadfast humanitarian and diplomatic support to Bangladesh in dealing with the Rohingya crisis since August 2017.