Thailand arrests 19 Rohingya, Thai woman for illegal entry

FRANCH 24 

Bangkok (AFP)

09/01/2021

 

Immigration officers watch over the group of Rohingya who are said to have illegally entered Thailand after being smuggled overland from Myanmar's Rakhine state Handout THAILAND IMMIGRATION BUREAU/AFP

Nineteen Rohingya and a Thai woman accused of housing them have been arrested for illegal entry to Thailand, police said Saturday, as concerns grow about trafficking routes for the Muslim minority fleeing Myanmar.

The embattled Rohingya have long faced persecution in Myanmar, where they are denied freedom of movement and citizenship, and lack access to work, healthcare and schools.

A 2017 military crackdown in western Rakhine state sent almost 750,000 fleeing across the border to Bangladesh, while many choose to embark on treacherous journeys with human smugglers to reach Malaysia and Indonesia, sometimes going through Thailand. 

Yangon Police Arrest Nearly 100 Rohingya Being Trafficked From Myanmar to Malaysia

Radio Free Asia ( RFA )
2021-01-07

Rohingya Muslims sit on the ground during a police raid on two houses where they were staying while en route to Malaysia, in Shwepyitha township, Myanmar's Yangon region, Jan. 6, 2021.Photo courtesy of Yangon Region Police Force

 

 

Myanmar police arrested nearly 100 undocumented Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar’s Rakhine state for illegal travel after raiding two houses in Yangon on Wednesday, saying that they had been trafficked and were heading to Malaysia.

Authorities, who discovered the group after following a suspicious man who could not speak Burmese to one of the houses in the country’s largest city, said Thursday that they charged four people with criminal persuasion and human trafficking.

Myanmar police arrest nearly 100 Rohingya in raid on house

REUTERS
Thu Thu Aung
APAC
January 6, 2021 

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar police arrested nearly 100 ethnic Rohingya on Wednesday after raiding a house in the commercial capital of Yangon, police and local media said.

Photos published by the local Tomorrow News Journal showed several barefoot men and dozens of women in colourful head scarves sitting on the ground in a courtyard.

Myanmar frequently detains Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority, on grounds of “illegal travel” for attempting to leave their native western Rakhine state.

Tin Maung Lwin, a police captain from Shwe Pyi Thar township, where the group was found, confirmed the arrests but declined to give further details.

Award-Winning Photojournalist Jailed For Photographing Refugee Camp

PetaPixel

Jaron Schneider
Jan 04, 2021

Abul Kalam is most well-known for his photography centered on documenting the life of refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh. On December 29, he was arrested and allegedly beaten for photographing the controversial transfer of refugees to a remote island camp.

According to The Guardian, Bangladesh had begun moving Rohingya refugees from camps in Cox’s Bazar to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, which had come under criticism from international rights activists. Those activist groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW), called out the transfer as against the will of those refugees and in defiance of safety and security concerns for those individuals. 

Rohingya Photojournalist Released on Bail from Bangladesh Prison, Still Faces Charges

VOA

VOA News
January 05, 2021

FILE - Reporters cover proceedings outside a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

A Burmese photojournalist has been released on bail from a Bangladeshi prison, but he still faces charges and up to three years in prison.

Bangladeshi authorities arrested Abul Kalam, Dec. 28 as he was photographing buses taking Rohingyas from the Kutupalong camp to a new camp on the island of Bhasan Char.

In an appearance in court Dec. 31, officials charged Kalam, a Rohingya refugee, with assaulting and interfering with public officials, charges that could carry a three-year prison sentence, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported. 

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.

1 Month of Rohingya Relocation: Finding happiness on the island of hope

 The Daily Star

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
January 04, 2021 

Noor Sadek and his staff were busy preparing and selling paratha and dal in his makeshift shop at Bhasan Char. Outside the shop, people were standing in line to buy breakfast.

"I sell only breakfast every day. Sales are around Tk 2,000-3,000," said a smiling Sadek, a Rohingya refugee.

He had the same business in Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar. He set up this shop two days after arriving on the island on December 4.

The main difference he finds here is that the area is not congested and no one demands extortion money. "I am happy with this. The more people will come to Bhasan Char, the more I will be able to sell," he said.

FM unhappy over negative campaign against Bhasan Char

UNB
UNB NEWS
DHAKA
PUBLISH- JANUARY 03, 2021,

Foreign media, envoys to visit Bhasan Char, he says

The numerous challenges associated with the temporary hosting of persecuted Rohingyas from Myanmar has compelled the government of Bangladesh to plan relocation of 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: UNB

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said a negative and false campaign has been launched abroad against Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char insisting that the island is a safe, secure and very stable place to live

“It’s a very stable place with far better facilities. It’s secure with adequate protective measures,” he told reporters at his office.

UNHCR appoints singer, actor Tahsan Khan as Goodwill Ambassador

THE NEW NATION
Sunday, January 3, 2021

Entertainment Report :

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Saturday announced the appointment of popular Bangladeshi singer and actor, Tahsan Khan, as its first Goodwill Ambassador in Bangladesh. He will join almost 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. 

Want repatriation of Rohingyas to begin this year, Bangladesh Foreign Minister writes to Myanmar

INDIA TODAY
Sahidul Hasan Khokon
Dhaka
January 4, 2021

While stating that he has written to his counterpart in Myanmar in this regard, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh wants to initiate the repatriation of Rohingyas this year.

File photo of Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen (Picture Courtesy: Twitter @AKAbdulMomen) 

Bangladesh has written to Myanmar over the issue of repatriation of Rohingya Muslims. The announcement by Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen comes days after the UNGA passed a resolution in this regard.

While addressing a press briefing on Sunday, AK Abdul Momen said he wrote a letter to his counterpart in Myanmar on the occasion of the New Year. "In the New Year, a letter has been sent to the State Council office in Myanmar," Momen said.

Call on Bangladesh authorities to release Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam

mizzima
03 January 2021

Well known Bangladeshi and international human rights figures, lawyers, academics, filmmakers, photographers, journalists and human rights focussed organisations are calling for the release of Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam.

On the morning of 28th December 2020, Abul Kalam, an award-winning photographer and Rohingya refugee, set out to take photographs of buses departing the Kutupalong camps for Bhasan Char. He was apprehended and then taken to the Camp-in-Charge in Camp 2W Block D5 of Kutupalong and subsequently to the Camp-in-Charge of Kutupalong Registered Camp. He was reportedly beaten when he was apprehended.

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.

Arakan Army blames NLD, UEC for election impasse

mizzima

By Mizzima
01 January 2021 

Photo: Myanmar State Counsellor Office

The Arakan Army and politicians blamed Myanmar’s ruling party and electoral authorities Thursday for the failure to hold elections in Rakhine State, as analysts warned that holding a vote will be critical to keeping a fragile ceasefire going into 2021, RFA reported.

'Rohingyas being relocated to Bhashan Char voluntarily with transparency'

Dhaka Tribune 

Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
December 30th, 2020 

A Bangladesh Navy ship carries Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char island, under Noakhali district, in the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

 

Instead of putting undue pressure on Bangladesh, UN and international actors must focus on Myanmar that created the crisis, says Foreign Ministry

The Rohingya refugees are being relocated to Bhashan Char at their will and that the process is being conducted maintaining utmost transparency, Bangladesh government reiterated on Wednesday.

"The Government would like to make it unambiguously clear that the relocation process, which was commenced on 04 December 2020, in line with the GOB’s (Government of Bangladesh) efforts to decongest and de-risk the camps, strictly followed the principle of voluntariness and was conducted with utmost transparency," said a media statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in the evening — a day after the transfer of the second batch of Rohingyas to the island.

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 moves more Rohingyas to remote island despite rights concerns

The Guardian

Veena Thoopkrajae
Bangkok
Mon 28 Dec 2020

Activists say the island of Bhasan Char is not safe and that the refugees are being moved against their will 

Rohingya refugees aboard bound for Bhasan Char island in early December. Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

 

Bangladesh has begun moving the second group of Rohingya refugees from crammed camps in Cox’s Bazar to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, in defiance of safety and security concerns from international rights advocates.

Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have urged the Bangladeshi government to halt the relocation of Rohingya to Bhasan Char, which is hours by boat from the mainland, flood-prone, vulnerable to frequent cyclones and could be completely submerged during a high tide.

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.