Pilot Return of Rohingya a Sham
Any safe return of the Rohingya under the auspices of a military junta – the very institution that is facing charges of genocide against the Rohingya and has been waging a brutal war of terror against the broader Myanmar population since its failed coup attempt of 1 February 2021 – is simply not possible under current conditions. Until the military junta is finally defeated, which is the goal of the Spring Revolution, international actors must not in any way lend legitimacy to this return process.
With the next stage of the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice looming, the latest superficial efforts by the junta to return some Rohingya from refugee camps in Bangladesh must be seen as what they are – a PR exercise. Craving some form of international legitimacy, the junta’s pilot return project still deprives Rohingya of citizenship, does not allow them to return to their original homes, does nothing to end the system of apartheid or provide for justice for the 2017 genocidal violence. It is clear that the junta’s plan will continue to be rejected by Rohingya communities despite their dire living conditions in refugee camps while international actors must listen and act upon their very clear concerns and grievances.
On 5 May, 20 Rohingya refugees were part of a team that were accompanied to Maungdaw, Rakhine State, from the refugee camps in Bangladesh to inspect two model villages built as part of their ‘return.’ This is a China-backed plan and the junta has plans for 1,100 to return as part of a pilot project. However, when the Rohingya group saw where they would be living – in camps rather than their original villages –the insincerity of the project was confirmed. Not only can they not return to their original homes, but they would be forced to accept National Verification Cards (NVC), which fall short of citizenship and basic rights and are part of an arsenal of measures that contribute towards genocide. One Rohingya who was part of the team, regarding the NVC stated, “If we accept the card, it will mean that we are guests, but we are the residents, not guests.” For many years the Rohingya have lived in apartheid conditions in Rakhine State, as the remaining communities are separated from the broader population and face strict conditions on their freedom of movement. It appears that that the junta return plans is to create a Palestine-like situation, where Rohingya are further institutionalized as second class citizens in camps and segregated areas with little chance of integration and few opportunities to pursue livelihoods, education, or access to adequate healthcare. As another Rohingya who was part of the returning team lamented, “My green village has been converted into a fortified camp. I feel bad to see the makeshift houses. We will not go to the camps – we want to live in our villages.”
The deadline for the Myanmar junta to submit a counter-memorial regarding the charges of genocide it faces for its wave of violence against the Rohingya in 2017 that caused their displacement in the first place is 24 May. The junta is clearly endeavouring to show that it is a good faith actor in the return of the Rohingya, and thus attempting to buy a veneer of legitimacy. The junta’s scheme is cynical and insincere. As a March 2023 report by Women’s Peace Network shows, since the coup attempt of February 2021, the junta has been “targeting the over 600,000 Rohingya who are remaining in the country with laws and policies that criminalize the exercise of fundamental freedoms, as well as arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, sexual violence, and even murder.”
Furthermore, despite the return supposedly being under a bilateral arrangement between Bangladesh and the illegal Myanmar military junta, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stating that it is not involved in the project, more transparency is needed on the UNHCR’s role. As a document from the junta’s side reveals, they are relying on the UNHCR and the UNDP to provide “assistance to ensure the smooth implementation of the Pilot Project for the reception and resettlement of returnees upon their arrival.” Given the UN’s previous woeful failures of the Rohingya people, outlined in an independent review of UN operations in Myanmar in the leadup to the 2017 genocide, the UN must clearly state its role or non-role in a return process that is unsafe, perpetuates the Rohingya’s legal and institutional persecution, and restricts their basic human rights. Furthermore, cuts to food rations in the refugee camps in Bangladesh could force them to make a desperate choice – of returning to the genocidal military that committed and is still committing horrific violence against them or take the risk of heading out to sea on overcrowded, rickety boats run by human traffickers to try and reach a third country.
Any safe return of the Rohingya under the auspices of a military junta – the very institution that is facing charges of genocide against the Rohingya and has been waging a brutal war of terror against the broader Myanmar population since its failed coup attempt of 1 February 2021 – is simply not possible under current conditions. Until the military junta is finally defeated, which is the goal of the Spring Revolution, international actors must not in any way lend legitimacy to this return process. Rather, support for the Rohingya must come in the form of meeting the desperate needs of nearly 1 million refugees living in Bangladesh, while also pursuing justice and accountability for the genocide and crimes against humanity committed against them at the ICJ, as well as the International Criminal Court. The Myanmar military cannot even bring itself to recognize the Rohingya’s very identity, never mind facilitate a voluntary, safe, and dignified return. Given the horrors the Rohingya have faced, they deserve better than being treated as a political football by the Myanmar military desperate to hide its cruelty and inhumanity.
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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By 40 Organisations
By 190 Organizations
Military threatens pardoned prisoners with rearrest if they speak out again
By Amnesty International
Statement on 8th Ethnic Media Conference
By Burma News International
By CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar), the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)
By CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar), the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)
By Justice For Myanmar
Karen National Union (KNU) 17th Congress Statement
By Karen National Union
By Karen National Union
Report To the Public on 2nd Anniversary of National Unity Government
By National Unity Government of Myanmar
By National Unity Government of Myanmar
National Unity Government – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Statement (9/2023)
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Anniversary of the Establishment of People’s Defence Force (PDF) – 2 Years Press Release
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Defence)
ကရင်နီအမျိုးသားတိုးတက်ရေးပါတီ (KNPP) တည်ထောင်ခြင်း (၆၆) နှစ်ပြည့်အထိမ်းအမှတ်သို့ ပေးပို့သော သဝဏ်လွှာ
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Defence)
Statement on International Workers’ Day (May Day)
By National Unity Government (Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar)
Statement on World Press Freedom Day
By National Unity Government (Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar)
By National Unity Government (Ministry of Defence), National Unity Government (Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration), National Unity Government (Ministry of Women Youth and Children Affairs), National Unity Government (Ministry of Justice)
Civil society calls for review and reframing of the ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus
By Progressive Voice, Blood Money Campaign, Karen Human Rights Group, Chin Human Rights Organization, ALTSEAN-Burma, FORUM-ASIA
Reports
Civil Society Position Paper Reviewing and Reframing the ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus
By 63 organizations
By Human Rights Foundation of Monland
By Karen National Union
On Second Anniversary of ASEAN Five-Point Consensus
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Freedom Memoirs Vol. 3, Issue. 4
By Mohinga Matters
By Mohinga Matters
By Myanmar Witness
Myanmar Humanitarian Update No. 29 | 6 May 2023
By United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2023 Annual Report
By United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
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