Bangladesh dismisses Myanmar’s claims over Rohingya identity

Bangladesh has firmly dismissed Myanmar’s recent submissions to the International Court of Justice, saying the portrayal of the Rohingya as “Bengalis” misrepresents history, denies their identity and seeks to rationalise atrocities committed during the 2016–17 violence.

In a statement issued this evening, the foreign ministry said Bangladesh urges Myanmar and other authorities in Rakhine to show genuine commitment to recognising the Rohingya as an integral part of Myanmar’s society and state, and to facilitate their return by creating a conducive environment in Rakhine that ensures equal rights, safety and dignity.

Bangladesh said Myanmar’s depiction of the Rohingya as illegal migrants before the ICJ is intended to reinforce a false narrative of internal security threats, diverting attention from atrocity crimes committed against the community.

The statement said the Rohingya are a distinct ethnic group with deep historical roots in Arakan, predating modern borders and the region’s incorporation into the Barman Kingdom in 1785. Their presence, it said, is well documented in historical records, colonial demographic data and independent scholarship.

Bangladesh noted that the term “Rohingya” has historical origins linked to the former Arakan capital Mro-Haung, or Rohang, and was later adopted by the community as a form of self-identification amid systematic marginalisation. Attempts to depict the Rohingya as foreigners or recent migrants, it said, are inconsistent with historical facts.

The government said the Rohingya were once an integral part of Myanmar’s political and social life until the 1982 Citizenship Law stripped them of citizenship on ethno-religious grounds. Despite prolonged discrimination, they retained voting rights until being fully disenfranchised during the 2015 general elections.

Bangladesh said Myanmar has consistently denied the Rohingya their constitutional protections, culminating in their mass expulsion from Rakhine State during 2016–17, leaving them stateless as part of a deliberate process to destroy the community.

The statement said the systematic labelling of the Rohingya as “Bengalis” violates their right to self-identification and has been used to justify exclusion, persecution and ethnic cleansing. It noted that Myanmar had previously recognised the Rohingya as “lawful residents of Burma” in the 1978 bilateral repatriation agreement with Bangladesh and reaffirmed their reintegration in later accords.

Bangladesh said Myanmar’s failure for more than eight years to create conditions in Rakhine for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingya breaches bilateral agreements signed in 2017–18 and may indicate an intent to permanently destroy the community.

The government also recalled lodging a protest on July 18, 2023, against Myanmar’s unsubstantiated claim that half a million Bangladeshis took shelter in Rakhine during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, noting that no documentary or demographic evidence supports the assertion.