Bangladesh rejects Myanmar’s argument at ICJ referring to Rohingya as ‘Bengalis’

Bangladesh has strongly objected to recent submissions made by Myanmar before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case filed by The Gambia over the Rohingya genocide, rejecting Myanmar’s reference to the Rohingya people as “Bengalis.”

In a statement issued on Friday, Bangladesh said the terminology was being used to promote a narrative of illegal migration and internal security threats in an attempt to justify Myanmar’s so-called “clearance operations” as counter-terrorism measures, while diverting attention from the atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya during 2016–17.

Bangladesh reiterated that the Rohingya are a distinct ethnic group with deep historical, cultural, and social roots in Arakan, present-day Rakhine State, dating back centuries before the region became part of the Barman Kingdom in 1785.

Their presence, Bangladesh said, is well documented in historical records, colonial-era demographic accounts, and independent scholarship, predating modern national borders.

The statement noted that the term “Rohingya” emerged from an early exonym linked to the historic Arakan capital Mro-Haung (also known as Rohang), and was later adopted by the community itself as it faced increasing marginalisation in Myanmar.

Attempts to portray the Rohingya—who were a well-settled community in Arakan decades before Myanmar’s independence—as foreigners or recent migrants are inconsistent with historical facts, Bangladesh said.

According to the statement, the Rohingya were once an integral part of Myanmar’s political and social life, enjoying voting rights and participation in public affairs until the promulgation of the 1982 Citizenship Law, which excluded them from citizenship on ethno-religious grounds.

The community was fully disenfranchised ahead of the 2015 general elections, culminating in their forced displacement from Rakhine State and rendering them stateless.

Bangladesh stressed that the Rohingya possess a distinct ethnic identity, language, and cultural heritage, separate from Bangla despite similarities with the Chittagonian dialect.

It said Myanmar’s continued use of the term “Bengalis” amounts to a denial of the Rohingya’s right to self-identify and has been central to a systematic campaign to strip them of citizenship and basic human rights.

The statement recalled that Myanmar itself had acknowledged the Rohingya as “lawful residents of Burma” in the 1978 bilateral repatriation agreement with Bangladesh, and later assured their reintegration as equal members of society in subsequent agreements.

Bangladesh said current efforts to revive the “Bengali” narrative undermine international justice, accountability efforts, and durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis.

Bangladesh also accused Myanmar of deliberately stalling the repatriation of Rohingya refugees for more than eight years, in violation of bilateral agreements signed in 2017–18, and said such inaction could be interpreted as evidence of intent to destroy the Rohingya community.

The statement further recalled that on 18 July 2023, Bangladesh formally protested Myanmar’s claim that half a million Bangladeshis had taken refuge in Rakhine during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

Bangladesh said Myanmar failed to provide any evidence to support the claim, adding that such a large influx—nearly 30% of Rakhine’s population at the time—would have caused major social and economic disruption and drawn international attention, none of which was recorded.

Bangladesh noted that subsequent censuses in Rakhine State provide no demographic evidence to support Myanmar’s assertion.

Calling on Myanmar and other authorities with influence over Rakhine State, the Government of Bangladesh urged genuine recognition of the Rohingya as an integral part of Myanmar’s society and state, and demanded concrete steps to create a conducive environment for their safe, dignified, and rights-based return and reintegration.