Bangladesh restricts ‘Rohingya refugees’

This news has been read 6416 times!

Rohingya refugees shelter under an umbrella during rain in Bangladesh’s Balukhali refugee camp on Sept 17. Monsoon rain amid a drive to move hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya out of makeshift camps added to the misery of the refugees on Sept 17 who have fl ed violence in Myanmar for Bangladesh. (AFP)

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Sept 17, (Agencies): Bangladeshi authorities on Sunday took steps to restrict the movement of Muslim Rohingya refugees living in crowded border camps after fleeing violence in Myanmar, while that nation’s military chief maintained the chaos was the work of extremists seeking a stronghold in the country. Bangladesh has been overwhelmed with more than 400,000 Rohingya who fled their homes in the last three weeks amid a crisis the UN describes as ethnic cleansing. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who lambasted Myanmar for “atrocities” during a visit to border camps last week, left Dhaka to address the annual UN gathering in New York.

Refugee camps were already beyond capacity and new arrivals were staying in schools or huddling in makeshift settlements with no toilets along roadsides and in open fields. Police were checking vehicles to prevent the Rohingya from spreading to nearby towns in an attempt to control the situation. “There is an instruction from the prime minister that we must treat Rohingya Muslims maintaining human rights,” said A.K.M. Iqbal Hossain, a police superintendent.

“As many private and social organizations are coming and distributing relief, sometimes chaos breaks out.” He said with the scale of the crisis “it’s very difficult to keep order, but we are doing so.” The refugees began pouring from Myanmar’s Rakhine state after a Rohingya insurgent group launched attacks on security posts Aug 25, prompting Myanmar’s military to launch “clearance operations” to root out the rebels. Those fleeing have described indiscriminate attacks by security forces and Buddhist mobs.

Destroying
The Myanmar government says hundreds have died, mostly “terrorists,” and that 176 out of 471 Rohingya villages have been abandoned. Myanmar has insisted that Rohingya insurgents and fleeing villagers are destroying their own homes. It has offered no proof to back these charges.

Meanwhile, as Rakhine state burns and Rohingya flee, Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing to address Myanmar on the crisis for the first time — a high wire act seeking to soothe global outrage without baiting an army that is again showing its teeth. Suu Kyi took office last year as Myanmar’s first civilian leader after 50 years of junta rule. She has since focused her energy on the delicate political dance between her civilian government and the generals who still hold many of the levers of power.

On Tuesday the Nobel laureate will give the biggest speech of her time in office. In an interview with the BBC, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the stakes were high for Tuesday’s speech, calling it a “last chance” to stop the unfolding humanitarian calamity. “If she does not reverse the situation now, then I think the tragedy will be absolutely horrible, and unfortunately then I don’t see how this can be reversed in the future,” he said.

Detested in Myanmar, the Muslim Rohingya desperately seeking sanctuary will get a new reminder Monday of just how unloved they are in India too. As the number of Rohingya fleeing a military crackdown for Bangladesh refugee camps races past 400,000 in three weeks, the Indian government is to put its case to the country’s Supreme Court for expelling up to 40,000 who have arrived over the past 10 years.

According to media reports, the government will argue that the Rohingya are a security threat who could aid terrorists. Civil rights campaigners and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein have strongly opposed India’s move.

This news has been read 6416 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights