BANGLADESH STARTS ROHINGYA SHIFT TO ISOLATED ISLAND AMID CONCERNS

Fri 04 December 2020:

Bangladesh authorities on Friday started sending a first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process.

The resettlement process for 100,000 Rohingya refugees from crammed camps in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal began Thursday amid concerns from international rights defenders.

According to official sources, nearly 600 Rohingya comprising 100 families started their journey to Bhasan Char, a distant island around 50 kilometers (31 miles) off Bangladesh’s southwestern coast, as the first batch.

The island was once regularly submerged by monsoon rains but now has flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals and mosques built at a cost of more than $112 million by the Bangladesh navy.

Located 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited.

About 700,000 Rohingya fled to the camps in Cox’s Bazar after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar began a harsh crackdown on the Muslim group following an attack by insurgents. The crackdown included rapes, killings and the torching of thousands of homes, and was termed ethnic cleansing by global rights groups and the UN.

Foreign media have not been permitted to visit the island.

WATCH | #Bangladesh on Friday started sending #Rohingya refugees to an isolated island #BhasanChar despite calls by #HumanRights groups for a halt. Island is located 21 miles (34km) from the mainland, the island surfaced only 20 years ago and was never inhabited. pic.twitter.com/7u0p8fiamk

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) December 4, 2020

Contractors say its infrastructure is like a modern township, with multifamily concrete homes, schools, playgrounds and roads. It also has solar-power facilities, a water supply system and cyclone shelters.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly told the U.N. and other international partners that her administration would consult them before making a final decision on the relocation, and that no refugees would be forced to move.

Concern grows

Some international rights defenders have urged the Bangladeshi government to halt the Rohingya relocation move on safety and rights grounds.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a statement issued Thursday said: “The government has provided limited information to [Rohingya] refugees about the actual conditions on the island, and there are some allegations that the authorities may have offered misleading information and incentives to move there.”

Citing one Rohingya’s claim before the rights body, the statement added: “He put his name on the list because camp leaders told him that those on the list would be given priority to repatriate to Myanmar and would be given 5,000 [Bangladeshi] taka [US$59]”.

#Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are reportedly being forcefully relocated to a flood-prone remote island that human rights groups condemn as another form of detention. pic.twitter.com/362NeFOYxZ

— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 3, 2020

But he finally changed his mind to relocate to the island “since he heard about those currently detained on the island and that they are being held in “prison-like facilities” and don’t have freedom of movement,” according to HRW.

Referring to the 306 Rohingya who are already in Bhasan Char, the statement said: “Those on the island say they are denied freedom of movement and have no access to sustainable livelihoods or education.”

Terming Bhasan Char as an “isolated” and “flood-prone” island in the Bay of Bengal, Ismail Wolff, regional director of rights defender Fortify Rights, said: “Not one refugee should be moved until all human rights and humanitarian concerns have been resolved and genuine informed consent is assured.”

The UN office in Bangladesh reiterated that a full-fledged investigation by international experts should be conducted over the feasibility of the island before the relocation.

Emphasizing access to education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities, the statement added: “Rohingya refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision about relocating to Bhasan Char based upon relevant, accurate and updated information.”

In addition, dozens of other rights watchdogs including Amnesty International and the Rohingya diaspora across the globe have also urged Bangladesh not to start relocation until and unless a complete survey on the island is conducted under UN supervision.