Over 7,000 granted national verification cards in Rakhine state

Rohingya people in Palongkhali region near Ukhia, Bangladesh after fleeing from Rakhine state of Myanmar (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 7,000 people have been granted national verification cards in Myanmar’s northern state Rakhine since local authorities started a verification process on October 1, the Myanmar News Agency reported on October 29.

The national verification process is one of the recommendations proposed by an advisory commission on Rakhine state, led by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The verification process, using biometric methods for the national identity system, is the first step towards scrutinising citizenship in accordance with the 1982 Citizenship Law.

U Aung Min, Director of the Rakhine State Immigration and Population Department, said the process is being carried out in stable areas.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has formed nine private sector task forces to join the mechanism of Union Enterprises for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD) in Rakhine state, chaired by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The newly established mechanism aims to allow the government and local and international organisations to work in all sectors of society for the development of Rakhine state.

Suu Kyi prioritised three main tasks to be done in Rakhine, including the repatriation of refugees who have fled to Bangladesh and providing humanitarian assistance effectively; resettlement and rehabilitation; and bringing development and lasting peace to the region.

The government is also ready to implement a national verification and repatriation process in accordance with agreed criteria set out in a joint statement between the foreign ministries of Myanmar and Bangladesh in 1992.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar fled into Bangladesh since violent government clearing operations were launched after militants attacked police outposts in Rakhine state on August 25.-VNA