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.

Signs of the time: Take me across the waters, ‘cause I need some place to hide…

THE FREE PRESS

By Humra Quraishi
Saturday, January 2, 2021 

On this Saturday #HumraQuraishi looks around for reasons to rejoice the coming of the year 2021

Humra Quraishi looks around for reasons to rejoice the coming of the year 2021 and wonders if it spells bloom as it is being made out to be

I have never believed in ushering in the new-year on a frilly note. Somehow find it silly to go cooing ‘happy new year’ when there’s dearth of happiness around. And as this year comes to a close with painful cries from varying locations, there is an absolute ‘no’ from my end to come up with that formality-dripping one-liner: happy new year!

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.

The UK should join the ICJ case against the Myanmar genocide

ARAB NEWS

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
December 31, 2020

Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Myanmar cross into Bangladesh on September 10, 2017. (Shutterstock image)

The ongoing case on behalf of the Rohingya people at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar for genocide has been initiated and championed by the small nation of The Gambia and has broken new ground in international law for being the first case of its kind brought by one UN country against another. In truth, all signatories to the UN Genocide Convention have the ability, and indeed the moral responsibility, to prosecute the crime of genocide wherever it may occur. And the UK should lend its full backing to the action by The Gambia.

This step seems to have become more likely with over 100 members of parliament signing a letter addressed to the government that the UK should be joining the legal action led by The Gambia. Among the signatories is the former UK Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, which lends further weight to this initiative.

Rohingya refugees: From crowded camps to isolated island

Aljazeera

Mahmud Hossain Opu

31 Dec 2020

 

Al Jazeera travels with Rohingya to flood-prone Bhashan Char island where Bangladesh wants to move about 100,000 refugees. 

 

Rohingya refugees prepare to board a ship as they move to Bhasan Char island near Chattogram [Mahmud Hossain Opu/Al Jazeera]

The Bangladeshi government has relocated more than 3,000 Rohingya to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, despite concerns from rights groups that many of the persecuted refugees might have been coerced into moving to the flood-prone island.

At least 1,800 refugees were shipped to the Bhashan Char island on Tuesday, weeks after the first batch of 1,600 Rohingya were transferred. The government plans to eventually move 100,000 Rohingya to the remote island as it aims to decongest refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, which shelter approximately one million Rohingya.-

Calls for release of man arrested photographing transfer of Rohingyas

The Guardian

Global development is supported by

Kaamil Ahmed
Fri 1 Jan 2021

Bangladesh authorities under pressure from rights activists including Bianca Jagger over detention of Abul Karam

Photography is not a crime’: Abul Kalam, who has been detained at a police barracks. 

 

Bangladesh authorities are facing calls to release a Rohingya man arrested while photographing the transfer of refugees to a controversial island camp this week.

Abul Kalam, 35, has been held since Monday morning when he was reportedly beaten before being taken to police barracks near the Kutupalong refugee camp, where he has lived since leaving Myanmar as a child refugee in the early 1990s.

“Photography is not a crime. Abul Kalam was taking photos of buses on their way to Bhasan Char … it is by no means a secret and has been extensively covered in the media,” said a letter calling for his release. 

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.

Amid Fragile Ceasefire, Frustration Over Missed Election in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

Radio Free Asia ( RFA ) 

2020-12-31 

People wearing face shields and face masks to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus queue to vote at a polling station in Rakhine state, Nov. 8, 2020.

 

Rakhine’s ethnic army and politicians blamed Myanmar’s ruling party and electoral authorities Thursday for the failure to hold elections in the war-torn state, as analysts warned that holding a vote will be critical to keeping a fragile ceasefire going into 2021.

After a violent 2020 in Myanmar’s westernmost state, Rakhine residents were largely left out of voting in Nov. 8 general elections, with only a quarter of the state’s registered voters able to go to polls after authorities scrapped the election, citing security concerns.

Today's News (Quick Search ) December 2020

Rohingya News all over the world

NEWS TODAY

31.12.2020

1800 Rohingyas shifted to island The Tribune

'A New Normal': Key Figures in Myanmar Reflect on 2020'' The Irrawaddy News Magazine

Bangladesh moves biggest group of Rohingya to isolated island Daily Express 

Bangladesh Moves Second Group of Rohingya Refugees to Remote Island Amid Fears of Coercion Democracy Now!

Bangladesh Moves Second Group of Rohingya Refugees to Remote Island Amid Fears of Coercion Democracy Now

Bangladesh navy ships take 1804 Rohingya to isolated island The Philadelphia Tribune

Bangladesh urges UN to participate in Rohingya relocation process - La Prensa Latina

Bangladeshi film 'Nigrohokal' ranked among best Asian documentaries of 2020 Dhaka Tribune

Families of 18 Missing Rakhines Get First Interview With Myanmar Police Since March ... Radio Free Asia

Forced Relocation: 1700 Rohingya Refugees Arrive in The Isolated Bhasan Char Island Al-Bawaba

Govt assures voluntariness, safety of Rohingyas relocated to Bhashan Char Dhaka Tribune

Japanese envoy's visit to Rakhine state raises prospect of by-election myanmar-now

Kashmir DDC Elections: Hype Vs Reality Outlook India

More Rohingya sent to Bangladesh island Reuters

Myanmar Military, Arakan Army Say They Aim to Prevent Fresh Fighting in Rakhine Radio Free Asia

'Pray floods don't kill us': A day on Rohingya's remote Bangladesh island - bdnews24.com

Rohingya Refugees Face Uncertain Future on a Bleak Island Al-Bawaba

Rohingya refugees hope for better life as Bangladesh moves them to remote island Arab News

Rohingya relocation to Bhashan Char not forceful, Dhaka says The Financial Express BD

Rohingya settle into new life on controversial island Yahoo News UK

Ten major events that moved and shaped Myanmar in 2020 Myanmar Times

Three soldiers get 20-year sentences for rape in Rakhine state myanmar-now

Will the Rohingya be safe on a remote Bangladeshi island? Aljazeera.com

Bangladesh to move more Rohingya to remote Island despite rights groups' warnings

PRESS TV
27 December 2020

Nearly 1000 Rohingya refugees are in second batch to be sent to Bangladesh's remote island

PRESS TV
29 December 2020

'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.

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 ‘set to move’ new group of Rohingya to remote island

Aljazeera  

27 Dec 2020 

About 1,000 Rohingya refugees will be moved to a remote, cyclone-prone island despite calls by rights groups to stop relocation. 

Rohingya refugees are transported on a naval vessel to Bhashan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, from Chittagong, Bangladesh [File: AP Photo]

Bangladesh is set to move a second batch of Rohingya refugees to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal this month, officials say, despite calls by rights groups not to carry out further relocations.

About 1,000 Rohingya refugees, members of a Muslim minority who fled neighbouring Myanmar to escape violence, will be moved to the flood-prone island in the next few days after Bangladesh relocated more than 1,600 earlier this month, two officials with the direct knowledge of the matter said on Sunday.