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Politics

Myanmar can begin Rohingya repatriation next month, official says

Complex verification process could stretch out return over years

The sun rises as thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar a day before wait by the road where they spent the night between refugee camps near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Oct. 1.   © Reuters

NAYPYITAW -- Myanmar plans to begin letting Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to neighboring Bangladesh during a military crackdown back into the country as early as next month, but at a glacial pace that would not complete the process for nearly a decade.

Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, discussed the plans with The Nikkei in an exclusive interview here Wednesday. In addition to heading the ministry in charge of repatriation, he is responsible for implementing recommendations compiled in August by a commission on the Rohingya issue led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

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