Safety fears as Bangladesh sends hundreds more Rohingya refugees to island

BANGLADESH has started relocating hundreds of Rohingya refugees to an island in the Bay of Bengal, despite concerns from rights groups over conditions on the vulnerable low-lying island.

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group, more than 700,000 of whom fled persecution and violence in neighbouring Myanmar in August 2017. Bangladesh has been sheltering 1.1 million of the refugees in crowded camps near its coast.

A Un-sponsored investigation in 2018 recommended the prosecution of Myanmar’s military commanders on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the violence against the Rohingya.

A senior Bangladeshi official overseeing the relocation, Mohammad Shamsud Douza, said a navy ship would take 379 refugees from Chattogram city to Bhashan Char Island, off the country’s southeastern coast.

“They are going there voluntarily. All the 379 refugees have chosen to live there for a better and secure life,” he told the Associated Press.

The government began sending Rohingya refugees to the island 11 months ago, and says it can now accommodate up to 100,000.

Mr Douza said a total of 1,500 refugees will be transported to the island in phases over the next few weeks. Previously, about 19,000 were relocated to the island from Cox’s Bazar where more than a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live in crowded camps.

Crime and security concerns have become a major issue in the sprawling camps at Cox’s Bazar. In September, the killing in a gun attack of an international representative of the refugees underlined the lack of security.

“We are moving to Bhasan Char after talking to the camp officials,” said refugee Mohammed Abdul Hashim as he left for the island yesterday. He said insecurity in the camps was rising, with many living in fear of criminal groups.

The government says the relocation is temporary and eventually the migrants will have to return to Myanmar.

In October, the UN signed an agreement with Bangladesh’s government to facilitate sending refugees to the island. The UN and other groups had criticised the relocation, saying the island, which is regularly submerged by monsoon rains, was not fit for habitation.