Myanmar has confirmed that 180,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh since fleeing their homeland are eligible to return, the Bangladeshi government has said.
Friday’s announcement, following talks in Bangkok, offered a possible breakthrough in the long-stalled repatriation process, although many Rohingya refugees say all of them should be allowed to go home.
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More than a million Rohingya people have been crammed into camps in southeastern Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee settlement. Most fled a brutal crackdown by Myanmar’s military in 2017.
About 70,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh last year, many fleeing worsening hunger and violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
The Bangladeshi government’s announcement comes after a meeting between Khalilur Rahman, high representative of Bangladesh’s interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and Than Swe, Myanmar’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, on the sidelines of the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok.
The 180,000 names were part of a list of 800,000 Rohingya that Bangladesh submitted to Myanmar in six batches between 2018 and 2020. Myanmar has also indicated that final verification of another 70,000 refugees is pending further review of photographs and identity details.
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The statement said Myanmar had pledged to expedite the verification process for the remaining 550,000 names on the original list.
There was no immediate comment from Myanmar’s government on the outcome of the Bangkok talks.
Many Rohingya refugees have little hope of returning to their homeland, where they continue to face systematic denial of citizenship and basic rights.
Attempts to begin repatriation in 2018 and 2019 failed as the refugees, fearing persecution, refused to go back.
“After all these years, they are confirming only 180,000 names. This feels like nothing more than an eyewash. We want a genuine solution,” one Rohingya refugee, Shafiqur Rahman, told the Reuters news agency.
“Myanmar must take all of us back — not just a selected few — and they must ensure we return with full rights, dignity, and citizenship. Without that, this process means nothing to us.”
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