Myanmar has rejected claims that more than one million Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh were displaced from Rakhine State, while also disputing that all those in the camps originated from Myanmar and refusing to recognize the Rohingya ethnic identity.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs challenged widely reported accounts of the Rohingya crisis, describing international media coverage of refugees in Cox’s Bazar and people fleeing by boat to other countries as “one-sided” and based on what it called misinformation and disinformation.
The statement repeatedly referred to the Rohingya as “Bengalis” and said the description of more than one million people as displaced from Rakhine State was inaccurate.
According to figures presented by Myanmar, more than 740,000 Rohingya lived in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships before violence erupted in 2016 and 2017.
It claimed more than 200,000 subsequently remained in those areas while over 540,000 crossed into Bangladesh.
On that basis, Naypyidaw disputed the figure of more than one million displaced people from Rakhine State.
Myanmar also rejected claims that all refugees currently living in camps in Bangladesh originated from its territory.
It further rejected descriptions of Rohingya fleeing by boat to other countries as originating from Myanmar, arguing that the ethnic identity used to describe them “has never existed in Myanmar.”
The statement came as Myanmar outlined its position on the stalled repatriation of Rohingya refugees and defended its handling of the crisis.
Myanmar attributed the mass displacement in 2016 and 2017 to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on police outposts and military installations in northern Rakhine State.
It described subsequent operations by the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, as “counter-terrorism measures” taken in response to the attacks.
Myanmar said it had signed three bilateral agreements with Bangladesh within two months as part of efforts to facilitate repatriation.
According to the statement, arrangements were made to receive refugees on January 23 and November 15, 2018, and August 22, 2019, but no refugees returned on those occasions.
Myanmar said Bangladesh had provided a list containing the names of 828,824 displaced people for verification.
As of July 31 this year, Myanmar said it had completed verification of 426,545 people.
Of them, it recognized 308,797 as former residents of Rakhine State.
Myanmar claimed another 4,241 people were involved in “terrorist activities”, while information relating to 113,507 people could not be verified.
The ministry also cited earlier periods of displacement, saying people crossed into Bangladesh following immigration checks in 1978, 1991 and 1992.
It said Myanmar subsequently received 186,968 returnees between 1978 and 1979 and another 236,495 between 1992 and 2005 under bilateral arrangements.
Naypyidaw said it had taken several steps in preparation for a pilot repatriation program, including a “Come-and-See” visit to Rakhine State, two “Go-and-Talk” visits to Bangladesh, two visits by Myanmar delegations for in-person verification and two diplomatic tours related to preparations for the project.
However, Myanmar said it would receive only those verified as former residents of Rakhine State and only when the security situation there becomes more stable.
The ministry also rejected what it described as attempts to portray the Rohingya repatriation crisis as an international issue, insisting that it should be resolved bilaterally between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
It said Myanmar would continue cooperating with Bangladesh for what it described as the voluntary, safe and dignified return of verified former residents of Rakhine State, while also working with “friendly countries” on repatriation.
Myanmar’s account contrasts sharply with extensive reporting by international media and rights organizations, which documented the flight of more than 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh following a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State beginning in August 2017.
Together with Rohingya who had fled earlier waves of violence and persecution, the influx brought the refugee population in Bangladesh to more than one million.
