December 31, 2016

Myanmar to take back 2,415 ‘citizens,’ no mention of Rohingyas

Myanmar said on Friday it would take back 2,415 “citizens” from Bangladesh, only a tiny fraction of the 300,000 people who Bangladesh says are Myanmar citizens taking refuge there and should go home.

“There are only 2,415 Myanmar citizens, according to our data,” Kyaw Zaya, director general of Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, referring to the number of Myanmar citizens in Bangladesh.

“We always stand with our number,” he said, adding he had “no idea” about the Bangladesh figure of 300,000.

He said the Myanmar government had a plan to take back the 2,415 in 2017.

Myanmar earlier agreed to take back 2,415 Rohingyas from the two registered camps in Bangladesh after the eighth foreign secretary-level talks in Dhaka in August 2014. The process was supposed to begin within two months, but it did not happen. After 2005, it was the first time Myanmar agreed to repatriate Rohingyas from Bangladesh. (Courtesy of dhakatribune.com)

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