Myanmar junta leader hints Rohingya return unlikely
MYANMAR’S junta leader Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh in comments made in his first interview since taking power in a February 1 coup.
Min Aung Hlaing was asked by Chinese-language Phoenix television whether the Muslim refugees could be allowed back to Rakhine State – from where most fled an army crackdown in 2017 that UN investigators said had “genocidal intent”.
“If it doesn’t comply with Myanmar’s laws, what else is there to consider? I don’t believe there is any country in the world that would go beyond their own country’s refugee laws to accept refugees,” Min Aung Hlaing responded, according to a transcript of the interview.
Asked whether that meant vocal international appeals on behalf of the Rohingya were to no avail, he nodded.
Min Aung Hlaing, who headed the army in 2017 when some 700,000 Rohingya fled from advancing troops, reiterated the view of nationalists in Buddhistmajority Myanmar that the Rohingya
are not one of its ethnic groups. He said the term Rohingya had only emerged since independence from Britain in 1948.
“After our independence, the census also registered the words ‘Bengali’, ‘Pakistani’ and ‘Chittagong’, but never the word ‘Rohingya’, thus we never accepted it,” Min Aung Hlaing said.
Rohingya have been widely referred to as Bengali by Myanmar authorities – implying they are outsiders from Bangladesh, although some can trace their roots in Myanmar back for centuries.
Myanmar’s elected leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, who was overthrown by Min Aung Hlaing on February 1, also came under international criticism for defending the army against charges of genocide. She and the military rejected accusations of genocide saying the security forces were engaged in legitimate operations against Rohingya insurgents when the refugees fled to Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s Dhaka Tribune journal reported on Monday (24) that efforts were underway to restart talks on the repatriation between Bangladesh and Myanmar with the help of China.