Bangladesh faces refugee anger over the term 'Rohingya & # 39;



[ad_1]

Myanmar Rohingya refugees in camps in Bangladesh began a demonstration yesterday demanding that Bangladesh recognize their ethnicity, and that officials and humanitarian organizations stop sharing family information with Myanmar.

Markets were closed in several refugee camps. in south-east Bangladesh because of the protest. The Rohingya working with non-governmental groups and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also boycotted their work as part of the strike.

"The term" Rohingya "is very important because we have been persecuted because of our identity" In a statement, he added that, although the term was banned in Myanmar, it should not be allowed. to be in Bangladesh.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a major army-led crackdown in the state of Rakhine, a Buddhist city in Myanmar, according to UN agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to Rohingya insurgency attacks against the security forces. The Rohingya consider themselves to be from Rakhine State in western Myanmar, but the Myanmar authorities and many citizens regard them as illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent. Many are stateless, a 1982 law limiting the citizenship of Rohingya and other minorities who are not considered members of one of Myanmar's "national races". The Myanmar government even refuses to use the word "Rohingya", which would imply a separate identity. He calls them "Bengali" instead.

Bangladesh urges refugees to accept smart cards to aid in the identification and distribution of aid. . However, smart cards identify an individual as a "forced Myanmar citizen" and not a Rohingya. Protesters were also concerned about UNHCR's plans to collect biometric data and copies of documents, fearing that UNHCR and Bangladeshi authorities could not share this data with Myanmar, who could use the information collected against them.

[ad_2]
Source link