National Unity Government Press Release ( 03 June 2021 )

In a change of heart, UN hints at engagement with Rohingya at Bhasan Char

bdnews24.com
Staff Correspondent,
02 Jun 2021

Discussions are going on between the United Nations and the government of Bangladesh over the global body’s engagement in managing the Rohingya relocated to Bhasan Char island, an official of the UNHCR says.

Raouf Mazou and Gillian Triggs, assistant high commissioners at the UN refugee agency, spoke to the media in Dhaka after a meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Wednesday following their trips to Bhasan Char and refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Fully cooperating with ICJ to “ensure justice” for Rohingyas: NUG

UNB

UNB NEWS
DHAKA
MAY 31, 2021

Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) has said they are fully cooperating with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to “make sure that justice is delivered to Rohingya brothers and sisters” and to all from every ethnicity who have suffered so much for so long under the brutal military generals’ reign of terror in Myanmar.

10 more Rohingyas who fled from Bhashan Char arrested

Dhaka Tribune

Tribune Desk
May 31st, 2021

Three brokers were also arrested by the police

Police have arrested 10 more Rohingyas, including three children, who had fled from Bhashan Char.

They were held from the Ichakhali area under Mirsarai upazila by Zoraganj police early Monday.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Nur Hossain Mamun confirmed the matter, reports Bangla Tribune.

Why the US Should Recognize the Rohingya Genocide The Biden administration has a chance to reasse

THE I DIPLOMAT
Michael P. Scharf, Paul R. Williams, and Milena Sterio
June 01, 2021

The Biden administration has a chance to reassert the United States’ moral authority on human rights.

Justice delayed is justice denied. As lawyers who have advised nearly every international criminal and hybrid tribunal, as well as over two dozen peace negotiations around the world, we have seen firsthand the consequences of ignoring atrocities in the name of preserving peace or alliances.

 

Minara Begum, 22, in her shelter at Balukhali

refugee camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, March 5, 2018.

Credit: UN Women/Allison Joyce

The Biden administration is faced with an historic opportunity. By labeling the atrocities committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as genocide, the Biden administration has a chance to reassert the United States’ moral authority on human rights and to lead the international community on issues of justice and accountability. The Biden administration should speak out firmly and clearly in favor of holding Myanmar and the individual perpetrators accountable for “the crime of all crimes.”

The Rohingya refugees trapped on a remote island miles from land

B B C

BBC World Service

Moazzem Hossain and Swaminathan Natarajan

When Dilara set off from the Bangladeshi coast, she dreamed of a new life in Malaysia.

But she and hundreds of others who had crammed into the boat ended up being rescued, having spent days floating at sea, after being turned away at the border.

Yet they were not returned to the mainland and the families they had left behind.

Instead, their rescuers left the group on an island created out of silt in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, with no hope of escape.

Genocide of Rohingya shows no sign of abating: Report

THE NATION
Anadolu

May 29, 2021

A UK-based Rohingya rights defender, the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK), in a new report claimed “the genocide against Rohingya shows no sign of abating in Myanmar” despite the order of the UN's highest court to the Myanmar authorities for protecting the minority community.

“Since the start of 2021, at least 15 Rohingya -- including nine infants and young children -- have died as a direct result of onerous and illegal travel restrictions preventing access to medical care,” the report released on Monday said.

The release has also coincided with Myanmar’s duty to report to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on how it is preventing genocidal acts against the minority Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.

Bangladesh may be forced to recognize Myanmar’s national unity government

ARAB NEWS

DR. AZEEM IBRAHIM
May 28, 2021

Rohingya refugees receive aid distributed by local organizations at Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 14, 2017. (Reuters)

As Bangladesh continues to struggle to provide adequately for the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, near the border with Myanmar, the best possible solution for everyone involved — from the Rohingya themselves to their hosts — would be if the refugees could safely return home to their ancestral lands. But, whereas the previous government of Myanmar under Aung San Suu Kyi at least pretended it was interested in allowing the Rohingya to return, the new military junta has already indicated it will stop pretending altogether.

Rohingya women produce reusable sanitary pads in Cox’s Bazar

UNFPA
27 May 2021

“Amidst the unstable conditions that we are living in, coming to the Women-Led Community Center gives us the opportunity to invest our time, energy and skills into a productive activity that can benefit us and the women in our community,” says Junaida, a young Rohingya woman living in the sprawling Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Since January 2021, Junaida has been coming to the UNFPA-supported Women-Led Community Center in her camp to receive training on producing reusable sanitary pads for women in the Rohingya community. The aim of the initiative is to support Rohingya women to take care of their menstrual hygiene in a sustainable manner, as well as to give them the opportunity to cope with the stress caused by the ongoing crisis by engaging in activities beneficial for their community.

For Rohingya, trust begins with who is asking the questions, May 2021

Analysis
Source : Ground Truth Solutions
27 May 2021

Bangladesh Trashes Report Alleging Rohingya Were Promised Citizenship to Move to Island

Benar News

Kamran Reza Chowdhury
Dhaka
2021-05-27

A Rohingya refugee draws water from a pump on Bhashan Char Island in Bangladesh, Dec. 30, 2020.

[Special to BenarNews]

A new report by an international NGO alleges that Dhaka has falsely promised Bangladeshi citizenship to Rohingya refugees who move to Bhashan Char, a remote and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, a claim that the government on Thursday rejected as untrue.

Bangladesh is focused on repatriating Rohingya to neighboring Myanmar, said Delwar Hossain, director general of the Myanmar wing at the foreign ministry, while he dismissed the report by Refugees International as containing false allegations.

Concern as 24% of Rohingya Inmates in Jammu Detention Centre Test COVID Positive

THE WIRE

Umer Maqbool
26/MAY/2021

A Rohingya Muslim man prepares to walk through a full-body sanitization tunnel installed at COVID-19 dedicated Government Medical College hospital, in Jammu, Sunday, April 19, 2020. Photo: PTI

Srinagar: Nearly 24% of the inmates of Jammu and Kashmir’s detention centre for Rohingya people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past three days, triggering concerns about a serious outbreak at the centre.

Over 200 Rohingya are being detained at the holding centre at Hira Nagar of Jammu’s Kathua district since March 6 this year. “Fifty three Rohingya refugees have tested positive for COVID-19 here out of 218 samples collected,” Kathua’s chief medical officer, Dr Ashok Choudhary told The Wire.

53 Rohingya test positive at Kathua jail facility

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

Arun Sharma
Jammu
May 27, 2021

Pointing out that they were found Covid-positive during a three-day special test drive at the centre, Kathua Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashok Choudhary said all of them are asymptomatic.

There are nearly 220 Rohingya, detained from Jammu following a verification drive, at the holding centre -- the J&K administration had set up the centres under the Foreigners Act in March.

Fifty-three Rohingya detained at a “holding centre” in a sub-jail in Kathua’s Hiranagar town have tested positive for Covid, officials said. They have been isolated from other inmates and health officials are keeping a watch on their condition.

Pointing out that they were found Covid-positive during a three-day special test drive at the centre, Kathua Chief Medical Officer Dr Ashok Choudhary said all of them are asymptomatic. “We have isolated them and provided them with corona kits…our doctors are visiting the holding centre daily and keeping a watch on their condition.”

53 Rohingyas test positive for Covid-19 at holding centre in J&K's Kathua

INDIA TODAY

Sunil Bhat

Jammu

May 28, 2021

The 53, out of over 200 Rohingyas at the Hiranagar Sub-Jail in Kathua district, have been quarantined. All of them are reportedly asymptomatic and are under the supervision of prison doctors.

All the remaining inmates would be tested on Thursday and Friday to stop the virus from spreading further. (PTI file image of Rohingya refugees in Jammu)

As many as 53 Rohingya were found Covid-19 positive at the Hiranagar Sub-Jail in Jammu's Kathua district during a three-day testing drive, officials informed on Wednesday.

All those who have tested positive are asymptomatic and have been isolated by the authorities. "A total of 53 Rohingyas were found positive during screening since Monday and all of them are asymptomatic. We are keeping a watch on their condition," PTI quoted Chief Medical Officer, Kathua, Ashok Chaudhary as saying.

Rohingya Repatriation: It looks uncertain

The Daily Star

Unb, Dhaka
May 26, 2021

Hasina tells UNGA president

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday expressed concern about the repatriation of Rohingyas following the recent development in Myanmar as it has made the process uncertain.

"The situation has become uncertain due to the recent developments in Myanmar," Hasina said when visiting United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President Volkan Bozkir met her at the Gono Bhaban.

UNGA President: Rohingyas' rights to return, citizenship must be respected

Dhaka Tribune

UNB
May 26th, 2021

A year ago the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to do everything possible to prevent a genocide against the Rohingya, he said

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir has said the basic rights, including to citizenship, and the creation of conditions conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all Rohingyas must be respected.

"The safety and security of the Rohingya and other minorities must be secured," he said while delivering his keynote speech at the Sixth Lecture of the Bangabandhu Lecture Series at the Foreign Service Academy on Tuesday.

Bangladesh Relying on World Community to Press Myanmar Junta on Rohingya Repatriation

Radio Free Asia ( RFA )
2021-05-25

Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing says the Rohingya are not a recognized ethnic group in Myanmar and will not be allowed to return to their homes in Rakhine.

Rohingya refugees gather behind a barbed-wire fence at a temporary settlement in a border zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh in a file photo.

Bangladesh is counting on the international community to pressure Myanmar into repatriating more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, after the Burmese junta chief said that Naypyidaw does not recognize them as citizens, a senior lawmaker told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, on Tuesday.

In clips posted on social media a day earlier, Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing was seen telling a Chinese television channel that his country would not repatriate people whom it does not consider as citizens under the law.

Faruk Khan, a Bangladeshi MP who chairs the parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he had heard these comments.

ၿဗိတိန္နိုင္ငံရဲ့ ျမန္မာ့အေရး ေဆာင္ရြက္ခ်က္အေပၚေလ့လာ စုံစမ္း

Radio Free Asia ( RFA )

ရဲေခါင္ျမင့္ေမာင္(ဝါရွင္တန္ဒီစီ)
2021-05-25

ၿဗိတိန္ပါလီမန္ရဲ့ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးရာ ေကာ္မတီဟာ ျမန္မာ့အေရးနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ၿပီး ေလ့လာစုံစမ္းဖို႔ အစည္းအေဝး တစ္ရပ္ကို မေန႔က က်င္းပခဲ့ရာမွာ NUG အစိုးရရဲ့ နိုင္ငံတကာပူးေပါင္းေဆာင္ရြက္ေရးဝန္ႀကီး ေဒါက္တာဆာ ဆာက NUG အစိုးရရဲ့ လုပ္ေဆာင္ခ်က္ေတြကို တင္ျပခဲ့ပါတယ္။ အလားတူ တက္ေရာက္လာတဲ့ တိုင္းရင္း သား နဲ႔ အရပ္ဘက္ေခါင္းေဆာင္ေတြကေတာ့ ၿဗိတိန္အစိုးရဟာ ျမန္မာ့အေရး လုပ္ေဆာင္ရာမွာ တိုင္းရင္း သားလူနည္းစုေတြရဲ့အသံကို နားေထာင္ၿပီး လုပ္ေဆာင္မႈ အားနည္းေနေသးတယ္လို႔ ေျပာဆိုခဲ့ပါတယ္။

Genocide against Rohingyas not abating

The Daily Star

Diplomatic Correspondent
May 25, 2021

Says BROUK; junta leader cast doubt on return of refugees

The genocide against the Rohingyas shows no sign of abating in Myanmar, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) said in a new briefing yesterday.

It said the Myanmar military continues to subject the Rohingyas to a vicious pattern of abuse and extortion in the Rakhine State, where Rohingyas are kept in what amounts to an open-air prison, creating intolerable living conditions.

Since the start of this year, at least 15 Rohingya, including nine infants and young children, have died as a direct result of onerous and illegal travel restrictions preventing access to medical care, said BROUK President Tun Khin in a statement.

Bangladesh's efforts for Rohingya’s in Bhashan Char an example to the world: UNGA president

theindependent

BSS, Dhaka
25 May, 2021

President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozker on Tuesday highly appreciated Bangladesh's efforts for Rohingyas in Bhasan Char saying it will be another example to the world on how to deal with refugees.

"This would be another example to the world on how to deal with refugees," he said in a joint media briefing at Foreign Service Academy.

The UNGA President said he could not visit Bhasan Char but he saw a video on Bhasan Char and acknowledged the high-level works in Bhasan Char including precautions and safety measures.