Myanmar has said it is willing to take back fewer than 400 Rohingya refugees of the 8,000 who have said they would voluntarily return from Bangladesh.

U Myint Thu, Myanmar’s permanent secretary for foreign affairs, said that of the list of thousands of returnees submitted by the Bangladesh government, they had deemed only 374 eligible for repatriation.

Myanmar blamed Bangladesh for the slow process, accusing its neighbour of submitting missing or “incomplete” information for the majority of the refugees, and accused three on the list of being terrorists.

“These 374 will be the first batch of the repatriation,” said Myint Thu at a press conference in the capital Naypidaw. He did not give a timeline for the return, but simply said: “They can come back when it’s convenient for them.”

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This move towards repatriation will barely make a dent in the 700,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees currently living in camps in Bangladesh after fleeing a violent and targeted campaign by the Burmese military in Rakhine state which began in August 2017 and destroyed their homes and left thousands dead.

Even if Myanmar finally allows a process of repatriation to begin, after two stalled efforts in December and January, there are still concerns for the safety of the Rohingya and the conditions they will be returned to. Satellite imagery in a report by Amnesty International on Monday showed how most Rohinga villages have been bulldozed, with large concrete structures and military bases being built in their place.

The Myanmar government said the 374 repatriated refugees would be placed in the temporary housing camps they have built – which Human Rights Watch described as “open air prisons” – for no longer than a month and would then be allowed to return to either their original villages, or close by.

It is unclear whether the 8,000 who have said they will voluntarily return are Rohingya who fled the most recent campaign of ethnic cleansing in 2017, or those who came to Bangladesh during earlier rounds of violence in 2012 and 2016.

Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, said despite the small number Myanmar had accepted, “we are still expecting them to take back all of the Rakhine population that are in Bangladesh.”

Kalam said he had not received confirmation from the Burmese government over the latest development, but said that in the earlier meetings between Bangladesh and Myanmar, the proposed figure that Myanmar would accept was 300 Rohingya refugees every day.

UN officials point finger at Myanmar for 'crimes under international law' Read more

“There are still safety issues and we are not exactly sure where these people will be taken to,” he said, of the 374 who have been approved for return to Myanmar. “The understanding between the two parties was that checks would be made for their safety before any people went back.”

The Myanmar government also used the press conference on Wednesday to reiterate their denial that genocide and ethnic cleansing had occurred in Rakhine, following forthright condemnation by UN figures on Tuesday that genocide and “crimes under international law” had been committed in Rakhine.

Investigators described to the human rights council a campaign of violence that included brutal gang rapes, indiscriminate shooting, burning elderly and disabled people alive in their homes, sexual violence against women and the killing of babies and children.

But U Aung Hla Tun, deputy minister of information, said hundreds of thousands of Rohingya had actually been enticed to leave by the prospect of a “better livelihood at the camps in Bangladesh”.

Aung Tun Thet, who has been appointed by Myanmar to oversee the rehabilitation in Rakhine added: “There is no such thing in our country, in our society, as ethnic cleansing, and no genocide.” </s> Myanmar has only been able to verify 374 Rohingya Muslim refugees for possible repatriation from Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday, blaming their neighbour for not providing the correct information about the refugees.

YANGON: Myanmar has only been able to verify 374 Rohingya Muslim refugees for possible repatriation from Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday, blaming their neighbour for not providing the correct information about the refugees.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after militant attacks on Aug. 25 sparked a crackdown led by security forces in the western Rakhine state that the United Nations and United States have said constituted ethnic cleansing.

The administration of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has sought to counter the allegations by forging ahead with development in Rakhine and by readying reception centres and a camp for returnees.

The two countries reached a deal in November to begin repatriation within two months, but repatriation has not begun, with stateless Rohingya, who face restrictions on their movements in Myanmar, still crossing the border.

Myint Thu, permanent secretary at Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said officials had checked documents handed over by Bangladesh in February relating to 8,032 refugees.

"Out of 8,032, we verified 374. These 374 will be the first batch of the repatriation," Myint Thu said at a news conference in the capital, Naypyitaw.

"They can come back when it's convenient for them."

It was unclear whether the 374 people had agreed to return to Myanmar.

Myanmar was unable to confirm whether the rest of the refugees had previously lived in the country, he said, because some documents did not include fingerprints and individual photographs.

The documents were "not in line with our agreement", police Brigadier-General Win Tun said at the same news conference.

Myanmar had found three "terrorists" among the people Bangladesh was proposing for repatriation, Win Tun added.

Bangladesh officials have expressed doubts about Myanmar's willingness to take back Rohingya refugees.

Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, said he could not comment in detail because he had not yet received Myanmar's response. But he questioned how more than 300 people could have been verified if the documents were in the wrong format.

At the Naypyitaw news conference, Myanmar officials sought to counter accusations heard at the U.N. Human Rights Council this week.

The head of an U.N. fact-finding mission denied visas by Myanmar and a special envoy on human rights in Myanmar who has been blocked from visiting the country, both spoke in Geneva on Monday. Yanghee Lee, the envoy, said atrocities against the Rohingya in Myanmar "bear the hallmarks of genocide".

"We have a clear conscience," said Aung Tun Thet, coordinator of a public-private partnership set up by Suu Kyi to rehabilitate Rakhine.

"There is no such thing in our country, in our society, as ethnic cleansing, and no genocide." </s> Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Bangladesh and Myanmar on Tuesday finalized a two-year timeline to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled from persecution and violence.

The Rohingya Muslim minority will begin to leave Bangladesh, with Myanmar agreeing to accept 1,500 a week with the goal of taking back more than 700,000 refugees within two years.

"We have signed a very positive treaty. After several discussions, Myanmar has agreed to complete the repatriation process preferably within two years from the day it commences," Sufiur Rahman, Bangladesh's ambassador to Myanmar, said.

"We have proposed to repatriate 15,000 Rohingyas every week but they [Myanmar] did not agree to it," he added."They [Myanmar] have taken some preparations for the Rohingyas. They have agreed to take back 300 Rohingyas per day. Some 1,500 Rohingyas will be sent back in a week."

The number of Rohingya sent back every week will increase after three months, Rahman said.

The "physical arrangement" was decided at the first meeting of the Joint Working Group on the return of the displaced Rohingyas from Rakhine State. The meeting was held on Monday and Tuesday in the city of Naypyidaw.

Under the agreement, returnees would be received initially in Myanmar in two reception centers and be temporarily sheltered while officials rebuild the houses for them to move into.

Many displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh, however, remain concerned about returning to Myanmar.

"We are still not clear about what agreement was signed," Sirajul Mostofa, a community leader in a Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazaar, said.

"Our first priority is, they have to grant us citizenship as Rohingyas. Secondly, they have to give back our lands. Thirdly, our security must be ensured internationally. Otherwise, this is not good for us."

A wave of Rohingya migrants began exiting Myanmar last year when military attacks led to widespread violence in Rahkine State -- including allegations of rape, torture and killings.

Last week, Myanmar's military admitted to killing 10 Rohingya Muslims found in a mass grave </s> COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) - Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Myanmar since last year. But refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety.

Some said their families have fled from their shanties in the refugee camps to avoid being sent back. The situation remained tense in camps overnight.

Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam said earlier Wednesday that 30 refugee families would be handed over Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Cox's Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps.

But by late Wednesday, confusion grew over whether it would start.

Kalam said late Wednesday that they discussed the situation with the U.N.'s refugee agency, which gave a report after discussion with the refugees who are on the list. The U.N. does not want the government to send the refugees back under current circumstances.

Details of the repot were not shared, but Kalam said they wanted to be "hopeful" in beginning the repatriation on Thursday.

Rohingya Muslims Nurul Amin, 35, left, and Mohammed Selim, 23, whose names are on the first list to be repatriated back to Myanmar, talk to the Associated Press outside Jamtoli refugee camp, in Bangladesh, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018. Bangladesh authorities said they are ready to begin repatriating some of the more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled from army-led violence in Myanmar since last year, but refugees scheduled to leave said they would refuse to go because of fears for their safety. "I will not go. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go," Amin told The Associated Press. Selim said his wife and seven other family members went into hiding after finding out that they would be sent back Thursday. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

"We hope we will be able to confirm tomorrow morning (Thursday) how many we are taking," he said.

The two countries had originally agreed to begin repatriating Rohingya to Rakhine State last January, but that was called off amid concerns among aid workers and the Rohingya that their safety wasn't guaranteed.

Kalam said about 2,260 refugees from 485 families would be sent back in an initial group. Myanmar officials said recently that they would receive 150 refugees each day.

But it was unclear whether the repatriation would begin smoothly amid reports that many of the refugees on the initial list have fled.

"I will not go. My wife and other family members have gone elsewhere, they do not want to go," 35-year-old Nurul Amin told The Associated Press outside the Jamtoli camp, where he and his family have been living for more than a year.

"I stayed back to guard my valuables," he said. "If you say you will shoot us if we do not agree to go back, we will welcome bullets, we still will not go."

Mohammed Selim, 23, said his wife and seven other family members went into hiding after finding out that they would be sent back.

"We are grateful to the Bangladesh government, the Bangladeshi people for their help. Please do not force us to go," he said.

"If we need to go, we demand that we go back to our homes, not to any camps there. We have our land, we have our homes," he said.

On Sunday, the Myanmar government said it was ready to welcome returning refugees.

It said returning Rohingya would stay at repatriation camps for two days and receive food and clothing before moving on to transit camps. It said China, India and Japan were "providing necessary assistance" for the repatriation process.

Despite the promises by Myanmar, human rights activists say conditions are not yet safe for their return.

Last week, the U.N.'s independent investigator for human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, called the plans "rushed" and said she was concerned there were no guarantees that the refugees would be protected from new persecution if they return home.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is one of the few humanitarian organizations operating in Rakhine state. Its U.N. observer, Robert Mardini, said Wednesday that conditions are not right for Rohingya refugees to return.

He told several reporters that the conflict between the Rohingya and Myanmar's government is not resolved, and "so many" Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine are flattened that there is no place to go back to.

"We still believe that the conditions are not right for voluntary, safe, dignified returns, and our concerns are for people to be able to move freely, to be safe and secure, and have a normal life," Mardini said. "Nobody can claim today that the security in Rakhine is so well established that people can return safely."

Foreign leaders have criticized Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore for her handling of the Rohingya crisis.

Rohingya began fleeing into Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces launched a brutal crackdown following attacks by an insurgent group on guard posts in August 2017. The scale, organization and ferocity of the operation led to accusations from the international community, including the United Nations, of ethnic cleansing and even genocide. Myanmar's government has denied the accusations.

Myanmar officials said Sunday that returnees can get an ID document called a national verification card that will allow them to travel in the Maungdaw area of Rakhine state, and that they can then begin to apply for citizenship.

But there is widespread skepticism that any of returning refugees will ever be granted citizenship.

Most people in Buddhist-majority Myanmar do not accept that the Rohingya Muslims are a native ethnic group. They are viewed as "Bengalis" who entered illegally from Bangladesh, even though generations of Rohingya have lived in Myanmar. Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless. They have also been denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.

Many people who fled earlier violence and moved into displacement camps inside Myanmar have been unable to leave those settlements for years.

Most Rohingya have lived in poverty in Rakhine, near the Bangladesh border. Marked by their religion and their language - most speak a dialect of Bengali, while most of their neighbors speak Rakhine - they are easy to target.

Associated Press writer Tofayel Ahmad in Cox's Bazar and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. </s> NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Senior officials in Myanmar announced Wednesday that they have begun talks with U.N. agencies to see how they could assist with the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh to escape violence against them.

Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Myint Thu said the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N. Development Program responded last week with a proposal and concept paper to the government's invitation for U.N. involvement, which the government is now studying.

"We considered that the time is now appropriate to invite UNHCR and UNDP to be involved in the repatriation and resettlement process, as well as in carrying out activities supporting the livelihoods and development for all communities in Rakhine state," Myint Thu said.

Human rights experts believe safety cannot yet be guaranteed for about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled the western state of Rakhine to Bangladesh after security forces carried out brutal crackdowns in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents last August.

Antagonism between Rakhine's Buddhist community and Rohingya Muslims led to communal violence in 2012, forcing at least 140,000 Rohingya from their homes into squalid camps for internally displaced people. Most Rohingya are treated as stateless persons with limited rights, and the insurgents drew support from the discontented as prejudice against their community grew in overwhelming Buddhist Myanmar.

Stanislav Saling, a U.N. spokesman in Myanmar, confirmed that in response to Myanmar's initiative, the U.N. agencies submitted a note proposing how they could help create conditions "for the safe, dignified and voluntary return for refugees, in line with international principles."

Neither the U.N. nor the government made public details of the proposal.

The international community has accused Myanmar's military of atrocities against the Rohingya that could amount to ethnic cleansing, but the government and military deny any organized human rights violations.

Myanmar's civilian government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has pledged to start the gradual repatriation of the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.

Myanmar's government says 374 refugees out of more than 8,000 whom Bangladesh has verified as qualified to return are free to return at their convenience.

"We have handed the list of 374 people to the Bangladesh Embassy so that they can immediately start their repatriation," Myint Thu said. "These 374 people can be the first repatriation batch." </s> NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar officials say the time is right to have U.N. agencies become involved in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh to escape violence against them.

Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Myint Thu said Wednesday that the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the U.N. Development Program responded last week to the government’s invitation with a proposal and concept paper, which are now being studied. A U.N. spokesman in Myanmar confirmed sending a note proposing how the agencies could help create conditions for the safe, dignified and voluntary return of the refugees.

Human rights experts believe safety cannot yet be guaranteed for about 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh after security forces carried out brutal crackdowns in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents last August. </s> COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh/YANGON (Reuters) - Hundreds of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh protested on Thursday against any attempt to send them back to Myanmar after the launch of a repatriation plan was postponed.

Bangladesh had begun preparations to repatriate an initial batch of 2,200 Rohingya to Myanmar on Thursday, in line with a plan agreed with Myanmar in October, but by late afternoon no refugees had been moved back across the border, Myanmar officials said.

There have been extensive doubts about the plan and it has been opposed by the U.N. refugee agency and aid groups, who fear for the safety of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and by many Rohingya in camps in Bangladesh.

“No, no, we won’t go,” hundreds of Rohingya protesters chanted in the Unchiprang camp in southeast Bangladesh, near the Myanmar border.

Some protesters also waved placards that said “We want justice” and “We will never return to Myanmar without our citizenship”.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state last year, according to U.N. agencies, launched in response to Rohingya insurgent attacks on the security forces.

The Rohingya refugees say soldiers and Buddhist civilians massacred families, burned hundreds of villages and carried out gang rapes. U.N-mandated investigators have accused the Myanmar army of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar denies almost all of the accusations, saying its security forces have been engaged in a counter-insurgency operation against “terrorists”.

Myanmar blamed Bangladesh for failing to supply returnees but said it was still ready to accept them.

“Bangladesh side didn’t transfer anyone until now. To be honest, Bangladesh is weak in following the physical arrangement,” said Myint Thu, permanent secretary at Myanmar’s foreign affairs ministry, at a media briefing.

Unverified images on social media showed officials on the Myanmar side of the border waiting at a reception centre.

“We will accept them according to the agreement signed by the two countries. Whether they come back or not is their own decision.”

Earlier, three sources directly briefed on the issue, said repatriation would not begin on Thursday as none of those selected to go back had agreed.

“Nobody wants to go back,” said one of the sources.

The repatriation of a first group was to have begun on Thursday.

But Bangladesh has vowed not to force anyone to return and it has asked the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make sure those short-listed to return really want to go back.

U.N. rights boss Michelle Bachelet called on Bangladesh on Tuesday to halt the repatriation plan, warning that lives would be put at “serious risk”.

The U.N. human rights office continued to receive reports of ongoing violations committed against Rohingya in Myanmar - including alleged killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests, Bachelet said.

Myanmar does not consider the Rohingya a native ethnic group and most are stateless. Many in the Buddhist-majority country call the Rohingya “Bengalis”, suggesting they belong in Bangladesh. </s> BANGKOK — Myanmar’s government on Thursday announced that it had reached an agreement with the United Nations that would be a first step toward the possible return of Rohingya Muslims to the country.

Beginning in August last year, about 700,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine State in far western Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh in the most urgent exodus of humanity in a generation. The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, were escaping a coordinated military campaign of slaughter, rape and the burning of their villages that some United Nations officials have said may amount to genocide.

While an agreement with the United Nations is a precondition for any meaningful repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar, even the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cautioned in a statement on Thursday that “conditions are not conducive for voluntary return yet.”

Few details were available on what the initial memorandum of understanding entailed. Myanmar said United Nations agencies would “cooperate with the government for the repatriation of the displaced persons who have been duly verified so that they can return voluntarily in safety and dignity.” </s> Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to repatriate Rohingya displaced by an army crackdown "within two years", Dhaka said on Tuesday, outlining the first clear timeline for a return of hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The agreement says the process will be "completed preferably within two years from the commencement of repatriation", according to a statement from the Bangladeshi government following talks in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.

The deal applies to Rohingya who fled Myanmar in two major outbreaks of violence since October 2016, when militants from the stateless Muslim minority first attacked border-guard posts in northern Rakhine state.

It does not cover Rohingya refugees who were living in Bangladesh prior to that date who the UN estimates the number at 200,000.

"During this two-day meeting, we agreed on the form that refugees will have to fill to be able to come back to Myanmar," Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, Bangladesh ambassador in Myanmar told AFP.

"We should be able to start the process in the coming days," he said, but added Myanmar's stated deadline of next week for starting Rohingya repatriation was "not possible".

The agreement follows a pact between the countries in November paving the way for repatriations from 23 January, a deadline that is likely to slip given the logistical challenges of the cross-border operation.

Myanmar has faced intense diplomatic pressure to allow the safe return of Rohingya refugees driven out by its army.

But many Rohingya in crowded camps in Bangladesh say they are reluctant to return to Rakhine state having fled atrocities including murder, rape and arson attacks on their homes.

Despite that, Myanmar authorities have pressed ahead with the construction of a "temporary camp" in Rakhine's Maungdaw district.

Eventually the site "will accommodate about 30,000 people in its 625 buildings" before they can be resettled permanently, Myanmar's state media reported this week. But only a fraction of the buildings have been finished.

Officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh met on Monday to discuss how to implement another deal, signed on 23 November, on the return of more than 650,000 Rohingya who escaped an army crackdown since late August.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to many basic services such as healthcare and education. They are considered illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh.

The authorities have said returnees could apply for citizenship if they can show their forebears have lived in Myanmar. But the latest deal – like the one in 1992 – does not guarantee citizenship and it is unclear how many would qualify.

Monday's meeting in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw was the first for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the November repatriation agreement. The group is made up of civil servants from both countries.

Last month, Bangladeshi officials said they had sent a list of 100,000 names to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation. Myanmar is yet to publicly endorse the list or even confirm it has received the names.

Bangladesh officials had said they would begin the process this month by sharing with Myanmar authorities a list of 100,000 Rohingya, picked at random from among registered refugees.

A Myanmar agency set up to oversee repatriation said in a statement recently that two temporary "repatriation and assessment camps" and one other site to accommodate returnees had been set up.

With inputs from AFP and Reuters
The government of Myanmar agrees to repatriate 374 Rohingya refugees from a list of 8,000 submitted by the government of Bangladesh. Myanmar's authorities blamed their Bangladeshi counterparts for the slow process, citing "incomplete" information for many of the refugees on the list.