KALADAN NEWS

Dated: May 18, 2005

Forced repatriation: harassment continues

Cox’s Bazar, May 18: Harassment centering forced repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh camps continues.

On May 11, 2005, Abdul Hamid — a refugee from Nayapara camp — was sent to Teknaf police station with a fabricated allegation of being ‘a criminal’. Later, he was released as police investigation proved otherwise.

Kaladan Press sources said, refugee Nur Alam (75) and 10 members of his family were forcefully ‘repatriated’ a while back. Nur Alam happens to a close relation of Abdul Hamid. Allegedly, Hamid earned his release by bribing the Teknaf Police Taka 4,000 (US$ 65). His family was assisted in the process by Mostaq — a ‘Majee’ from Block D, Nayapara camp.

‘Majees’ or camp volunteers and their local accomplishes were trying to repatriate the family forcefully several times. But as the family is not eager to go back to Burma unless peaceful atmosphere of living and basic rights and securities are not ensured, they failed. So, Majees tried to shift the family within the camp, which also failed for as the family strongly protested the move.

Later, Majees as instructed by camp officials tried foiling the protestors and to forcefully repatriate them. Majees cooked up a story that they were robbed and attacked by ‘criminal refugees’ Nur Alam, Abdul Hamid and other innocents. Then they gathered in a place, while Abdul Hamid was picked up and handed over to the concerned authorities with a criminal allegation.

The camp authority sent him to the Teknaf police station for necessary action without carrying out any investigation on the incident that occurred in the camp but police officials from Teknaf studied the matter and released Abdul Hamid.

Though Hamid was released, the family members of Abdul Hamid and Nur Alam are being threatened by the camp authorities that if they fail to comply with their orders, they will be arrested again and jailed.

Names of 3 members from Nur Alam’s family were taken off the ration book by the Nayapara Camp-in-Charge Asaduzzaman as they refused repatriation.

A UNHCR official in Cox’s Bazar said, such harassment centering repatriation may exist but UNHCR is not aware of the situation.

Ruthless torture campaigns and discriminatory policies against the Rohingyas resulted in two large-scale exoduses of more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in 1978 and 1991/92. Each refugee crisis was followed by mass repatriation, whose voluntaries had been seriously questioned. Today, about 19,000 Rohingya refugees remain in two camps in Bangladesh and, renewed attempts to repatriate them led to coercion, intimidation and forced repatriation. In addition to the refugees in the camps, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya a! lso fled to Bangladesh, as well as Malaysia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where they live as irregular migrants.

“We are at risk at camp officials lodging a false case against them and sending them to jail. If we mention our concern to foreigners visiting the camps, we are punished for daring to express their grievousness once the foreigners depart”, said Alam from Nayapara camp.

“We are under pressure from local authorities and majees to sign “Declaration of Voluntary Repatriation (DVR)” when we refuse to go back, they encounter ill treatment such as beatings, arbitrary arrests and confiscation of ration cards” he further said.

A recent visitor to the camps says that, even with what UNHCR presence does exist, refugees are being forced back to Burma against their will in any event. The visitor went on to say that the situation in the camps is terrible, and that local authorities are trying to prevent any outsiders from visiting, thus the present blackout on any news concerning these refugees. # #

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