BD to drop term ‘Rohingya’ from accord to form Jt panel with Myanmar

Bangladesh has agreed to delete the "Rohingya" word from the proposed draft agreement which is going to be signed with the Myanmar government between November 23 and 24. The agreement will be to form a "Joint Working Group" (JWG) to repatriate the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from Bangladesh.
It also agreed to sign the "Agreement" in line with the 92 bilateral Memorandums of Understanding ( MoU) signed by the Myanmar government engaging Bangladesh in the light of the UNHCR 93 agreement.
"We almost finalized the draft, however, we need to begin the dialogue first, we did not see any problem with the changes as all issues will be fixed in the meeting," diplomatic sources told the Daily Observer on Wednesday.
Earlier, Bangladesh proposed that the joint working group would work on the recommendations by the Kofi Annan Commission and the five-point proposal made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. According to the sources, the Agreement will discuss only about those Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh in the years 2016 and 2017. However, Bangladesh is set to sign the agreement by this month and attempt to form the JWG accordingly.
However, the 1992 MoU was shelved in January 2012 after UNHCR pulled out due to concerns about forced repatriations.
In 1978, 1991, 1996, 2016 and 2017 Bangladesh gave shelter to Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. But Myanmar will now only discuss about the Rohingya refugees who entered in 2016 and 2017. What will be the fate of about 4 lakh Rohingyas, those were displaced in 1978, 1991 and 1996, the official asked.
IMO and UNHCR said more than 600,000 Rohingyas have fled the Rakhine state in the Buddhist-majority country. Myanmar military forces responded to Rohingya militants' attacks on August 25 by launching a crackdown.
"Myanmar has agreed to take back its citizens in accordance with the 1992 Joint Statement with Bangladesh and drawn four criteria before it proceeds with the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees�.we replace the five-point proposal or Kofi Annan Commission Report," another official said.
"The verification criteria will be based on the principles agreed to in 1992 or membership card of 'members of Myanmar society'," he added.
Myanmar government has not agreed to the 10-point proposal put forward by Bangladesh in resolving Rohingya crisis and even did not agree to discuss the Kofi Annan Commission report in this regard, Home Ministry and diplomatic sources told the Daily Observer earlier.
"Of these 10 points only two is related with the repatriation, others are related with the border security issue and border management issue," the official said.
Due to this disagreement, Bangladesh and Myanmar have failed to form the much awaited "Joint working group" for the safe return of Rohingyas.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Myanmar army chief General Min Aung Hlaing to allow safe return of Rohingyas in accordance with the 1992 Joint Statement with Bangladesh and 'without further conditions'.
Replying to a query, the official said "Obviously things have changed since 1992 and the international community has also agreed on the issue. Our motto is to sit first."  
However, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is scheduled to visit Myanmar on November 22-23 and is likely to discuss the issue with the Myanmar government.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar government has also begun to issue National Verification Cards (NVCs) as certificates of citizenship to Rohingyas in Maungdaw.
The NVCs are being distributed based on a survey using the 1982 citizenship law to determine which persons are defined as Myanmar nationals.
In Apri l 1992 the Bangladesh Foreign Mirister Mostafizur Ranman stated that the repatriation of refugees would be completed in six months. It is out of that sense of urgency that Bangladesh signed a Joint Statement with the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORQ of Myanmar on April 28, 1992).
According to the Joint Statement Myamnar agreed to take measures that would prevent Myanmar residents from fleeing into Bangladesh and accept all documents after inspection ,  including 'those carrying Myanmar identity cards, 'those able to present their documents issued by relevant Myauunar authorities ' and who can provide evidence of their residence in Myanmar.