Bangladesh has begun relocating a second group of Rohingya refugees from crowded camps in Cox’s Bazar to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, defying security concerns from international rights lawyers.
Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called on the Bangladeshi government to stop moving the Rohingya to Bhasan Char, which is a few hours by boat from the mainland, prone to floods, vulnerable to frequent cyclones and could be completely submerged. during a high tide.
There are also concerns that the Rohingya, already displaced from Myanmar by ethnic cleansing, may have been bribed to move to the island or that they have faced intimidation tactics to persuade them to do so.
International law enforcement suspects that the refugees were included without their consent and called on Bangladesh to allow an independent inspection of the island.
The first group of 1,642 Rohingya refugees was moved to the island in early December.
Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, a senior police officer and director of the Bhasan Char project, told The Daily Star in Bangladesh that about 700 to 1,000 Rohingya refugees will be sent to the island on December 28 and 29, and that Bhasan Char was ready to receive new arrivals.
Saad Hammadi, an Amnesty International activist in South Asia, said concerns about moving to Bhashan Char stemmed from a “lack of understanding of human rights guarantees there, including access to health care and the right to freedom of movement.” traffic between the island and Cox’s Bazaar ”.
Earlier this month, HRW said in a statement that there was limited information about the actual conditions on the island, “and there are some allegations that the authorities provided misleading information and incentives to move there.”
Shafiur Rahman |
(Fishafiur)Here is a remote island called Bhasan Char. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on this. Built for #Rohingya #refugees apparently – although I’m not convinced. pic.twitter.com/94sZa5Qh2l
However, the Bangladeshi government has denied any concern. Mostafizur Rahman, Bangladesh’s permanent representative and ambassador to the UN office in Geneva, said the Rohingyas had been voluntarily relocated and that the government had taken steps to improve their quality of life, livelihoods and security.
Mohammed Shamsud Douza, the deputy government official in charge of refugees, said a 12km embankment had been built to protect the island from flooding, along with housing for 100,000 people. The relocation was voluntary, he said.
“No one is forced to go there,” he said, adding that people can live a better life there with greater access to health care and education.