Myanmar vows 'safe' returns ahead of Malaysia repatriations

Myanmar pledged today (3 September) "safe and dignified" returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after the United Nations and rights groups raised concerns about the upcoming repatriation of 1,500 people from Malaysia.

The Myanmar foreign ministry also repeated its disavowal of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, members of which campaigners fear may be plunged back into danger by the return scheme.

In July, Malaysia said Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the Rohingya, a group which has faced a campaign of violent discrimination in Myanmar since 2017.

Both countries say a first wave of nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals will be repatriated voluntarily in late September, although it is unclear how many Rohingya will be included.

"Myanmar is committed to working closely with Bangladesh and friendly countries to facilitate the voluntary return of verified displaced persons in a safe and dignified manner," the foreign ministry statement said.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar after a brutal military crackdown starting in 2017, which is the basis of a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

More than 1.2 million live just over the border in Bangladesh, in the world's largest refugee settlement, but talk of repatriations has yielded little progress.

Another 126,000 Rohingya live in Malaysia, alongside displaced Myanmar citizens from different ethnic groups.

Myanmar has long denied the Rohingya have a distinct heritage, saying they are descendants of immigrants from Bangladesh -- even refusing to use the term "Rohingya".

The foreign ministry repeated its assertion today (3 September) that the term "falsely claims an ethnic identity which has never existed in Myanmar", as it condemned recent commemorations in some countries for Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day.

Malaysia's Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has said his country will not repatriate Myanmar nationals "if they would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened".

But rights monitors fear returning the Rohingya to a country where their identities are erased will permit a new wave of abuses.

A report by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres published yesterday (2 September) found "conditions for their voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return do not currently exist".

Many migrants in Malaysia are also being held in detention centres, raising quesions about whether their decisions to return can be freely made.