Though there is no sign of repatriation yet, Myanmar has claimed the work is proceeding steadily on this front and necessary steps are in place to start the repatriation of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar.

‘All requirements for repatriation are in place,’ says a statement shared by Myanmar State Counsellor Office, reports the UNB.

A prosecutor from the international criminal court (ICC) has recently sought jurisdiction over the ‘deportation’ of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, with the aim of investigating and prosecuting those responsible.

In a filing, court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said, ‘This is not an abstract question but a concrete one, affecting whether the court may exercise jurisdiction …to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute.’

The prosecutor is seeking a ruling to ‘verify that the Court has territorial jurisdiction when persons are deported from the territory of a State which is not a party to the Statute directly into the territory of a State which is a party to the Statute.’

The government of Myanmar, however, expressed concern on the news regarding the application by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor to claim jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Muslims from Rakhine to Bangladesh.

‘Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute. The proposed claim for extension of jurisdiction may very well reap serious consequences and exceed the well-enshrined principle that the ICC is a body which operates on behalf of, and with the consent of State Parties which have signed and ratified the Rome Statute,’ the Myanmar government said in the statement on April 13.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation agreement on November 23, 2017. On January 16, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a document on ‘Physical Arrangement’ which will facilitate the return of Rohingyas to their homeland from Bangladesh.

The ‘Physical Arrangement’ stipulates that the repatriation will be completed preferably within two years from the start of repatriation.

Bangladesh currently has a Rohingya population, which is far more than Bhutan’s entire population.

Bhutan has around 800,000 people whereas Bangladesh had to give shelter to some 1.2 million Rohingyas.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday termed ridiculous Myanmar’s claim of repatriating a five-member Rohingya family saying that Bangladesh does not have any information about that so-called repatriation.

‘It’s ridiculous to us. We’ve no formal information about the repatriation of a five-member Rohingya family. Myanmar didn’t inform us about it. We’re trying to know about it,’ he told reporters apparently expressing displeasure over the claim through international media.

Some 6000 Rohingyas are living on the zero line along Bangladesh-Myanmar border, and they are not inside Bangladesh. The family was part of 6000 Rohingyas living on the zero line.

Bangladesh currently has a Rohingya population, which is far more than Bhutan’s entire population.

Bhutan has around 800,000 people whereas Bangladesh had to give shelter to some 1.2 million Rohingyas.