Gunfight kills one person, injures 10 in Bangladesh in Rohingya refugee

MENAFN 

Date 1/10/2021 

(MENAFN)According to an official and sources, on Sunday, at least one Rohingya refugee was killed and 10 others wounded in a gunfight amid two rival factions in Cox's Bazar, a sprawling refugee camp in Bangladesh.

According to Anadolu Agency, Mahbub Alam Talukder, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner stated that, "Some rival groups among Rohingya refugees are involved in a power struggle."

It further declared that dead has been identified as 30-year-old Nur Hakim, and his body has been sent for autopsy.

They also stated, the wounded have been shifted to a camp-based medical facility run by Save the Children. 

 Link : Here

IOM Bangladesh Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis Response - Monthly Situation Report (November 2020)

Situation Report
IOM
7 Jan 2021

Link : Here

Rohingya Refugee Response/Bangladesh: Joint Government of Bangladesh - UNHCR Population factsheet (as of December 31, 2020)

 

Bangladesh says photographer’s arrest not related to controversial transfer of Rohingyas

ARAB NEWS
SHEHAB SUMON
January 04, 2021

Rohingya refugees are seen next to eatery stalls at the housing complex of Bhashan Char island after they were relocated in Noakhali on December 30, 2020. (AFP)

• Activists say Abul Kalam was arrested while taking photographs of buses with Rohingyas on their way to a controversial island camp

DHAKA: Bangladeshi authorities on Sunday denied accusations that a Rohingya photographer in judicial custody was arrested for documenting the relocation of refugees from Cox’s Bazar to a controversial island camp in the Bay of Bengal.

Rights activists, including Bianca Jagger and Bangladeshi filmmaker Shaifur Rahman, on Friday called for the release of Abul Kalam, who they said was taking photographs of buses with Rohingya refugees on their way to the Bhasan Char island.

Oman lauds Bangladesh decision to relocate Rohingyas to Bhashan Char

Dhaka Tribune  

UNB
January 2nd, 2021

Ships of Bangladesh Navy carry Rohingya people to Bhashan Char in Noakhali on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

Mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders to be signed

Oman has appreciated the Bangladesh government's decision of relocating some of the Rohingyas from Cox's Bazar to Bhashan Char terming the new place "conducive and safe" for living.

 

The Head of Mission of Embassy of Sultanate of Oman Ta'eeb Salim 'Abdullah Al 'Alawi made the observation during his farewell call on Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at his official residence recently.

He referred to several visits to Cox's Bazar to supervise the construction work of 16,000 makeshift homes there.

Tahsan Khan appointed Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR in Bangladesh

The Daily Star

Arts & Entertainment Desk
January 02, 2021

      Photo: Courtesy of UNHCR

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced the appointment of popular Bangladeshi musician and actor, Tahsan Khan, as their first Goodwill Ambassador in Bangladesh, today.

He will join nearly 30 UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors globally, who help to highlight the situation of refugees and the work of UNHCR in every corner of the world, through their influence, dedication and hard work.

Khan has been supporting UNHCR's advocacy and outreach activities since 2019. He visited the Rohingya refugee settlements in Cox's Bazar, and supported UNHCR in the promotion of World Refugee Day and other events. Through these engagements, he witnessed the complex Rohingya humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar, met with refugees, and deepened his understanding of the root causes of displacement.

Bangladesh rejects claims it is forcing Rohingya to move to cyclone-prone island

Sky News

Dominic Waghorn
Diplomatic editor @DominicWaghorn
Thursday 31 December 2020 20:03, UK

The government of Bangladesh is angrily rejecting claims it is forcibly moving Rohingya refugees to a remote cyclone-prone island against their will.

Hundreds of members of the ethnic minority have been taken to the isolated island of Bhasan Char which only emerged from the estuarine waters in the 1980s and is frequently inundated, although Bangladesh claims to have installed flood defences.

More Rohingya sent to Bangladesh island, with hopes for future, ducks, chickens

REUTERS

Mohammed Ponir Hossain
December 29, 2020

BHASAN CHAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladesh moved a second group of Rohingya Muslim refugees to a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, despite opposition from rights groups worried about the new site’s vulnerability to storms.BHASAN CHAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Bangladesh moved a second group of Rohingya Muslim refugees to a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, despite opposition from rights groups worried about the new site’s vulnerability to storms.  

 

Bangladesh navy personnel check Rohingyas before they board a ship to move to Bhasan Char island in Chattogram, Bangladesh, December 29, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

 

The United Nations says it has not been involved in the relocation but urged the government to ensure no refugee is forced to move to Bhasan Char island, which only emerged from the sea 20 years ago.

The Bangladesh navy took the 1,804 Rohingya to the island in five ships, with the refugees sitting on wooden benches on deck, some clutching ducks, pigeons and chickens in bamboo baskets and wearing orange life vests and masks against the coronavirus.

A first group of 1,642 Rohingya, members of a minority group who have fled from violence in Myanmar, were relocated from their camps near the Myanmar border to the isolated island earlier in the month.

Bangladesh moves largest group of Rohingya refugees to remote island

FRANCH 24

30/12/2020

 

Bangladesh Navy personnel help a Rohingya refugee child to get off a navy vessel as they arrive at the Bhasan Char island in Noakhali district, Bangladesh, December 29, 2020. © Mohammad Ponir Hossain, REUTERS 

 

 

Four Bangladesh navy ships on Tuesday took the second and biggest group of Rohingya Muslims yet from crowded refugee camps to an uncertain future on a bleak island three hours from the mainland.

The government insisted that the 1,800 refugees, who have been in camps since fleeing a Myanmar military clampdown, want to start new lives on Bhashan Char, where 1,600 others arrived earlier this month.

But rights activists expressed new doubts about the transfers. They said some Rohingya had their shanty homes in the camps on the Myanmar border padlocked so they had no choice.

The Bangladesh government eventually wants to rehouse 100,000 of the camps' approximately one million Rohingya on the island, which takes the full force of cyclones that roar across the Bay of Bengal each year.

Bangladesh to ship new group of Rohingya refugees to remote island

REUTERS

By Ruma Paul 

December 28, 2020

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh will move a second group of Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, officials said, despite calls by rights groups to stop the relocation on safety grounds 

FILE PHOTO: Buffaloes are seen on the island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

 

More than 1,100 Rohingya refugees, members of a Muslim minority who have fled Myanmar, will be moved from a refugee camp near the Myanmar border to Bhasan Char island, two officials with the knowledge of the issue said.

Authorities moved the first batch of more than 1,600 early this month.

“Buses and trucks are ready to carry them and their belongings to Chittagong port today. Tonight, they will stay there. Tomorrow they will be taken by naval ships to the island,” one of the officials said on Monday.

The officials declined to be identified as the issue has not been made public.

Rohingya Repatriation: Quader for more int’l pressure on Myanmar

The Daily Star

Bss, Dhaka
December 29, 2020 

 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday called upon the international community to take more effective strategies for mounting pressure on Myanmar to take back its Rohingya nationals from Bangladesh.

Quader, also general secretary of Awami League, said this at a regular press conference at his official residence on parliament premises in the capital.

He said since the outset of Rohingya crisis, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been continuing diplomatic efforts seeking cooperation from the international community for a peaceful solution to the problem.

The economy and environment of Bangladesh have been affected badly for hosting around 12 lakh Rohingyas who took shelter at Ukhia and Teknaf, he added.

The minister said social environment and ecological balance of the areas are now at stake due to excessive number of people living there. It is also putting adverse impacts on the tourism industry centring the world's longest natural sea beach in Cox's Bazar, he said.

Bangladesh: Turkey’s key partner in Asia Anew initiative

DAILY SABAH

Nazmul Islam
Op-Ed
Dec 25, 2020

The deep-rooted relations between Turkey and Bangladesh date back to the 13th century, as incumbent Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina pointed out in a speech during the inauguration of Bangladesh's new embassy complex in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Though the two modern nation-states established formal diplomatic relations in 1974, the extensive relations between Turkey and the people of Bengal have existed since the medieval era, through the latter's Sultanate, Mughal and British periods, to modern times.

Apart from the Mughal-Ottoman relations, Bengali Muslims supported Turkey in its War of Independence in the early 20th century. The interactions and cultural exchanges throughout history have resulted in substantial influence on different aspects of cooperation.

Community Resilience Programme (CRP) Phase I (January 2017 - June 2020) Programme Completion Report: Central Rakhine (October 2020)

IFRC +
21 Dec 2020

Link : Here

India needs to be more open and cooperative

Prothum Alo------ 

Touhid Hossain
Updated: 18 December 2020, 

It was obvious that there would be no progress on the Teesta agreement during the talks this time. We have no alternative but to depend on India regarding the Teesta agreement. I do not expect the agreement to be signed when Narenda Modi comes to Dhaka in March next year.

Bangladesh won its independence through bloodshed and the liberation war of 1971 with the support of India. Bangladesh is grateful for this support from its close neighbour. Even after independence Bangladesh has received support and cooperation from India. We always want friendly relations with India.

Moving refugees to Bashan Char is not a solution to Bangladesh’s Rohingya problem

ARAB NEWS

DR. AZEEM IBRAHIM
December 18, 2020

Now that the government of Bangladesh seems finally to have recognized the fact that the Rohingya will be in the country for the long haul, it has started looking for long-term options for managing the huge refugee population.

Authorities in Dhaka are correct that holding more than one million people in cramped conditions at Cox’s Bazaar is not a sustainable solution. But the authorities are wrong to believe that moving some of them to Bashan Char will help to solve the problem.

Now it's US, voicing concerns on Bangladesh transfer of Myanmar Rohingya

THE Star 

Sunday, 13 Dec 2020 

Rohingyas from Myanmar preparing to board a ship as they move to Bhasan Char island near Chattogram, Bangladesh, Dec 4, 2020. - Reuters

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (AFP): The United States has voiced concern over Bangladesh's transfer of Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island and said that any movement should be voluntary.

Bangladesh, which has taken in nearly one million Rohingya who fled a brutal offensive in neighboring Myanmar, has started the relocation of 100,000 of them from squalid camps on the mainland to Bhashan Char, a silt island frequently in the path of cyclones.

The United States reiterated its appreciation to Bangladesh for accepting the refugees but said it was "concerned" about last week's transfer of more than 1,600 Rohingya and plans to move more.

U.N., U.S. urge safety assessment of Bangladeshi island where Rohingya shipped

REUTERS

by Reuters

Thursday, 10 December 

Bangladesh moved Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone, remote island in the Bay of Bengal despite complaints by refugees and rights groups

Dec 10 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights investigator urged Bangladesh on Thursday to allow a safety assessment of the remote island where the government shipped 1,600 Rohingya refugees last week, amid U.S. concern about plans to carry out further relocations.

The United Nations says it has not been allowed to conduct a technical and safety assessment of Bhasan Char, a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, and was not involved in the transfer of refugees there.

Thomas Andrews, the U.N. human rights investigator for Myanmar, said the assessment as well as a verification process to ensure that refugees are not forced to go were in the "best interest of all".

"They will assure the government of Bangladesh of the suitability of Bhasan Char to host refugees or identify changes that might be necessary," he said in a statement.

"It will also assure that the government's policy of strict voluntary relocation to Bhasan Char is, indeed, being faithfully carried out."

U.S. voices concern about Bangladesh's relocation of Rohingya

REUTERS

By Reuters Staff

DECEMBER 10, 2020

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday said it was concerned about Bangladesh’s relocation of 1,642 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char island and plans to carry out further moves, calling on Bangladesh to accept independent assessments of the move.

The United States also backed the United Nations in calling for any such relocations to be “fully voluntary and based on informed consent without pressure or coercion”, State Department spokesman Cale Brown said in a statement.

Bangladesh naval vessels moved the Rohingya refugees to the flood-prone, remote island in the Bay of Bengal on Dec. 4, despite complaints by refugees and rights groups that some were being coerced.

Bangladesh – Rohingya Response Operation Overview, November 2020

reliefweb
Logistics Cluster
WFP ,
9 Dec 2020

 

Fears of forced removals as Bangladesh moves hundreds of Rohingya refugees to remote island

KRDO

By CNN
Published December 8, 2020

 

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are being relocated to a controversial island facility in the Bay of Bengal today amid fears that some could be coerced to move there and held indefinitely.

A ship carrying 1642 refugees is traveling to Bhasan Char, an island about 40 kilometers (24 miles) off the coast near the city of Chittagong, according to Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

The Bangladeshi government has spent years constructing a network of shelters on the island to accommodate up to 100,000 people currently living in sprawling refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, near the Myanmar border.

But human rights groups and the refugees themselves have long expressed concerns over the safety of the uninhabited, low-lying island, as it often becomes partially submerged during monsoon season and is vulnerable to cyclones.