• Myanmar will have the final say in verification of Rohingyas

• Refugee documents issued by UNHCR will also be verified by Naypyitaw 

The criteria stipulated in the new Rohingya repatriation deal will make it difficult for the Myanmar nationals to return to their homes in Rakhine State from Bangladesh, say experts and Rohingya refugees.

The Rohingyas will have to go through a verification process that will require them to submit documents to prove their past residency in Myanmar.

The documents include “old and expired citizenship identity cards” or national registration cards or temporary registration cards, according to the "Arrangement on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State" signed between Dhaka and Naypyitaw on November 23.

Once repatriated to Rakhine State, the Rohingyas will primarily be kept at temporary shelters or arrangements for a “limited time” and their freedom of movement will be allowed as per the existing laws in Myanmar.

However, the Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape persecution in Myanmar say these conditions go against their interest as only a few of them have residency cards.

Besides, it was still unclear whether they would be granted citizenship and the rights as enjoyed by the Buddhists in Myanmar.

"I don't want to go back to Myanmar unless it is guaranteed that I will be given citizenship," said Rohingya community leader Jamal Hossain, 42, now staying at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar's Ukhia.

Another Rohingya man, Jamal Hossain, who came from Buthidaung, said he had a residency card, but it along with all other things in his house was burnt to ashes. He somehow managed to flee to Bangladesh with his family members.

"Even if I'm given the chance to go back to Rakhine, I will not accept it under the prevailing situation," he said.

Several other Rohingyas also echoed his view.

They are among the 622,000 Rohingyas, who have fled atrocities in Rakhine since the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown there on August 25.

The UN and the US termed the violence ethnic cleansing, while France and rights bodies defined it as genocide and crimes against humanity.

International relations analysts think Myanmar struck the repatriation deal with Bangladesh under global pressure.

They expressed doubt whether Myanmar is sincere about the Rohingya repatriation, especially because it failed to restore law and order in Rakhine where communal violence still     continues.

According to the deal, the Rohingyas can also be verified based on other documents issued by the Myanmar authorities or information indicating their residence in Myanmar, such as address, reference to household or business document, school attendance or any other relevant particulars.

Prof CR Abrar, an expert on refugee and migration affairs, said it is absurd that the Myanmar authorities are asking for papers or documents from those who fled atrocities to save their lives.

“Their houses were burned down. Their assets were either destroyed or looted. How can they present any documents?" he asked.

Abrar, a teacher of international relations at Dhaka University, said the other option -- information indicating their residence or schools -- is a more acceptable way of verification.

He also referred to another provision in the deal, which says "recipient of refugee documents issued by the UNHCR will undergo the same verification process".

This means the UN agency's registration of a Rohingya would be ignored, Abrar pointed out.

The deal also says that in cases of dispute over eligibility for return to Myanmar, Dhaka and Naypyitaw will sit with all documents and information to resolve such cases. And Myanmar will make the final decision regarding verification.

Pointing to Myanmar's upper hand in determining eligibility, Abrar said, "It is Myanmar's armed forces and security agencies that forced the Rohingyas to flee. It is ridiculous that they would be the determiner of repatriation eligibility."

Abrar further said Naypyitaw is basically following the 1982 citizenship law of Myanmar and the 1992 agreement on repatriation of the Rohingyas.

"If this is so, I don't see any sustainable solution to the decades-long problem," he said.

Talking to this newspaper, a number of Rohingyas, who have residency cards, expressed unwillingness to go back to Rakhine under the prevailing situation.

Mohammad Ilias, 33, who was a school teacher in Maungdaw of Rakhine, said he has a residency card, but he does not want to return to Myanmar unless he gets back his house and other properties.

"I would like to go back home, but where would I live with my family... in a camp?" he questioned.

The repatriation deal mentions Myanmar's commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which suggested that the Rohingyas be granted citizenship and provided with equal opportunities in all spheres of life.

But in a statement on November 15, Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said the Rohingyas cannot return to Rakhine until “real Myanmar citizens” are ready to accept them.

“Emphasis must be placed on the wish of local Rakhine ethnic people who are real Myanmar citizens," he said.

Aung Hlaing also refuted all allegations of abuse, insisting troops only targeted Rohingya insurgents.

He has all along stated that the Rohingyas are Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, going in line with the hardliner Buddhists of Myanmar.