Fleeing Rohingya recaptured after mystery escape

Bangkok Post 

11 Jan 2021

Nujaree Raekrun

District officials and police check a room in Chien Yai district of Nakhon Si Thammarat where three Rohingya women were detained on Saturday and escaped from on Sunday. (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun) 

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: Three Rohingya women were re-arrested on Monday after mysteriously escaping from a room where they had been detained.

Chien Yai district chief Kittipong Rongdet said on Monday the three women were apprehended by police in Cha-uat district on Sunday night, along with a Rohingya man he described as a "middle man". All were sent back to Chien Yai for interrogation, he added.

Momen: Myanmar’s lack of sincerity delaying Rohingya repatriation

Dhaka Tribune  

Anwar Hussain, Chittagong
January 10th, 2021

The only solution to the crisis is taking back the forcibly displaced people, says the foreign minister

Reiterating Myanmar was not sincere about taking back the Rohingyas, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen says that talks over the matter have resumed after it was stalled due to the pandemic and national elections in the neighbouring country.

Speaking at an event in Chittagong on Sunday, Momen, however, said that he was optimistic about the repatriation initiative, but was not sure when it would start.

The foreign minister made the remarks while speaking at a book launching ceremony held at the Chittagong Press Club.

At the event, two books by former ambassador to Myanmar Maj (retd) Md Emdadul Islam published by Prothoma Prakashan and Kharimati were unveiled.

Education crucial if Rohingya are to avoid ‘lost generation’

ARAB NEWS

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
January 10, 2021

Noor and Aziz will be part of new educational content to support children and families affected by the Rohingya refugee crisis. (@sesamestreet)

A heartwarming initiative from the creators of “Sesame Street” shows that the international community is finally beginning to understand how to effectively approach the perennial issue of education for refugees. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that creates the early education TV show, has unveiled Aziz and Noor, two new Muppet characters who are twin brother and sister Rohingya children.

This will be the first time that Rohingya children will have seen anyone like them in a mainstream media production. What is more, the two characters will appear alongside Elmo and other beloved characters in shows in the Rohingya language that are dedicated to topics in math, science and health, among others. This is all part of a curriculum developed by Sesame Workshop, alongside a number of other high-profile charities, specifically for Rohingya children.

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

19 Rohingya held in Bangkok for illegal entry

Bangkok Post 

9 Jan 2021 

Seven test positive for Covid after raid in Don Muang district raises new concerns about human trafficking

A picture taken by the Immigration Bureau on Jan 3 and released on Saturday shows immigration officers watching over a group of Rohingya migrants who were arrested in Don Muang district of Bangkok after being smuggled overland from Rakhine state in Myanmar. (Immigration Bureau handout via AFP)
 

Nineteen Rohingya migrants have been arrested in Bangkok for illegal entry to Thailand and a Thai woman accused of housing them has also been detained, police said on Saturday.

The arrests have raised concerns about trafficking routes for the Muslim minority fleeing Myanmar, at a time when illegal migrants from that country have been linked to a second wave of coronavirus infections accross Thailand.

China’s BRI Dream Could Turn Nightmare As Myanmar Puts ‘Roadblocks’ Before Key Infra Projects

The Eur Asian Times

Jayanta Kalita
January 9, 2021

Unlike China’s ‘iron brother’ Pakistan, which has rolled out the red carpet for its BRI projects, Southeast Asian nation Myanmar is set to clip the wings of the dragon.

China may be aiming to conquer the world with its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) undermining local sentiments in certain host countries, but the dragon is not invincible it seems. Myanmar is one country where citizens are resisting aggressive and intrusive policies Beijing is known for.

A global infrastructure strategy, BRI reflects President Xi Jinping’s dream of taking China to the ‘numero uno’ spot in the world. It envisages road, rail, and port projects in six economic corridors spread across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe.

No wonder, the Communist regime has already incorporated the BRI in the country’s Constitution as China plans to invest $1.5 trillion in the next decade.

According to global financial services group Nomura, more than 80 countries are likely to benefit from the BRI project. At the same time, it “will have enormous economic, geopolitical and investment implications for China”, Nomura warns. 

Tales of the 21st Century: Rohingyas Without home

IPS

Inter Press Service

Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan 8 2021 (IPS) - Mohammad Rakibul Hasan is a Bangladeshi documentary photographer, photojournalist, filmmaker and visual artist who has been visiting the camps in Cox’s Bazaar to document the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Rakibul Hasan is a recipient of the Lucie Awards Discovery of the Year 2018. He also received the 23rd Human Rights Press Awards from The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, Amnesty International and the Hong Kong Journalists Association, for his series “The Looted Honor” which documents Rohingya refugee rape survivors.

Rakibul Hasan has shared with IPS a selection of images document life in the Rohingya refugee camps.

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.

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)

 

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.

Why Joe Biden Should Help the Rohingya People of Myanmar

TIME

By Matthew Smith and Andrew Riley

January 6, 2021 

A large group of Rohingya people, fled from ongoing military operations in Myanmar's Rakhine state, try to cross the border at Palongkhalii, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on October 17, 2017.
Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

 

Matthew Smith is CEO and co-founder of Fortify Rights and a Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Follow him on Twitter @matthewfsmith.
Andrew Riley is a consultant to Fortify Rights and was the principal author of “The Torture in My Mind”: The Right to Mental Health for Rohingya Survivors of Genocide in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Follow him on Twitter @andrewkyleriley.

 

Then the Myanmar Army attacked and massacred ethnic Rohingya civilians in 2017, more than 700,000 men, women, and children fled to Bangladesh, some riddled with bullets, burns, and gaping wounds. Hundreds of villages were in ashes, razed by soldiers and their civilian proxies.

But long after the physical wounds scarred over, Rohingya continue to suffer mental harm on a massive scale. President-elect Biden can and should do something about it.

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.