Bangladesh Protests Myanmar Over Rohingya Ethnic Label and Repatriation

The Government of Bangladesh officially lodged a protest with Myanmar on Tuesday (18/8) over the labelling of the Rohingya ethnic group as ‘Bengali’. Dhaka asserted that the identity is erroneous and hampers the sustainable repatriation process for more than 1.2 million refugees in Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern over Myanmar’s unilateral statement. According to Dhaka, the sole solution to this humanitarian crisis is the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of Rohingya to Rakhine State.

The diplomatic tension was triggered by a statement from Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday (15/8) referring to the refugees as ‘Bengali’. In that statement, Myanmar’s junta government claimed to have verified only 308,975 refugees as former Rakhine residents eligible to return.

Director General for Myanmar affairs at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md. Toufiq-ur-Rahman, summoned Myanmar’s Ambassador U Kyaw Soe Moe in Dhaka to convey the objection. Rahman stressed that the data used by Myanmar is based on erroneous statistics and does not reflect the actual number of refugees.

Rahman emphasised that the Rohingya ethnic group has its own identity that has historically been recognised by Myanmar authorities. He refuted the claim that they are the main ethnic group from Bangladesh (Bengali) and urged Myanmar to respect that ethnic identity.

Beyond the identity issue, Bangladesh urged Myanmar to accelerate the verification process based on agreed bilateral instruments. Dhaka requested that children born in refugee camps as well as those who fled after the 2017 military crackdown be included in the repatriation scheme.

According to UN refugee agency data up to July, more than 1.2 million Rohingya now reside in Bangladeshi refugee camps. They fled military violence in Myanmar that began in August 2017.

Responding to the protest, Ambassador U Kyaw Soe Moe stated he would convey the Bangladeshi government’s concerns to authorities in Myanmar. To date, the repatriation process remains hampered by security instability in Rakhine State.