Home boss: Rohingyas to return to Myanmar

As the United Nations have claimed that some 10,000 Rohingya Muslims entered Bangladesh recently, Home Minster Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday said that his government did not have information on the exact number, but insisted that they must go back to Myanmar. “Since the end of the Liberation War, some 250,000 Pakistanis have remained stranded in Bangladesh while we have already given shelter to some 500,000 Rohingyas. We do not know how many Rohingyas have managed to enter the country recently,” the minister said at a programme in Dhaka. Mentioning about the foreign minister’s recent briefing on Bangladesh’s stance, Kamal said: “We are communicating with the international community and urging them to take strong position against oppression on the Rohingya people.” Since the Myanmar military started the fresh spell of crackdown in Rohingya-dominated Rakhine state in October, Bangladesh tightened security at the border to stop influx – ignoring massive outrage by rights activists, political parties and Islamists to allow them. UN refugee agency UNHCR late last month asked Bangladesh to open its border for the Rohingyas, saying over 30,000 have been displaced from their homes. Since then, BGB and Coast Guard have pushed back several boats carrying Rohingyas on the Naff River after giving them humanitarian assistance. Despite that several hundred Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh with the help of human traffickers in Teknaf and taken shelter at different makeshift camps, according to local sources. But the UNHCR on Wednesday said based on reports by various humanitarian agencies that there could be 10,000 new arrivals in recent weeks. Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency in Bangkok said: “The situation is fast changing and the actual number could be much higher.” In 2012, more than 100 people were killed in violence in Rakhine and some 125,000 Rohingyas took refuge in camps for internally displaced persons while some entered Bangladesh to save their life. The home minister Thursday said that they would sit with the Myanmar authorities to facilitate deportation of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh. In August 2014, Myanmar agreed to take back the Rohingyas stranded in Bangladesh after the eighth foreign secretary-level talks in Dhaka. Even though the process of repatriating 2,415 Rohingyas from the two camps was supposed to begin within two months, it did not happen. It was for the first time Myanmar agreed to take back Rohingyas from Bangladesh after 2005. In September, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi that the Rohingya issue should be solved by the two next-door neighbours after Suu Kyi sought her help. The Myanmar leader, who was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, said an international commission, led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, was looking into the crisis.

Earthquake a major concern

Issuing a note of warning on the possible loss of lives if a strong earthquake strikes Bangladesh, the home minister said that the government was working to strengthen its capabilities to mitigate loss from disasters. “It took 21 days to complete rescue and salvage operation at the Rana Plaza site. What may happen if an earthquake strikes?” Kamal also said that the government had planned to buy equipment worth Tk450 crore and set up fire service camps at every upazila in phases. Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Shah Kalam said that the last deadly earthquake had taken place on June 12, 1897 in Sylhet – originated from the Dawki Fault. Another tremor from the same fault was felt at Shreemangal, Moulvibazar in 1928. “It means some 119 years have passed and a major earthquake can take place anytime – devastating for Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet,” Kalam said, stressing that the country needs more volunteers to work during disasters. “The government with the support of Save the Children and SEEP is providing three-day training to people to create a team of 62,000 volunteers. Some 32,000 have already been trained,” the secretary claimed. “Bangladesh is the only country in the world that has a Disaster Act, rules and regulations,” he added. Fire service and Civil Defence Director General Ali Ahmed Khan said that they were planning to provide the volunteers with IDs so that they could avail some facilities and get priority in advanced training. “We are also working on a proposal to form Volunteers Trust,” he added.