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A Rohingya refugee cries while praying with others inside a mosque located in the Unchiprang refugee camp, near Cox & # 39; s Bazaar, Bangladesh, Friday, November 16, 2018. Normal life returned to a Rohingya Muslim refugee camp In Bangladesh, Friday, a day after government officials delayed the project repatriation of residents to Myanmar, no one (AP Photo / Dar Yasin) The Associated Press
of JULHAS ALAM, Associated Press
COX S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) – A normal life has returned to a refugee camp Rohingyas in Bangladesh, Friday, One day after government authorities delayed the repatriation of residents to Myanmar when no one volunteered.
United Nations officials and international aid agencies congratulated Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who hopes to retain power in the elections next month. for having respected the commitment not to force repatriation.
Hasina repeatedly referred to the fact that more than one million Rohingyas have been hosted in Bangladesh, of whom more than 700,000 have fled the military violence in Myanmar since August 2017, and dozens of thousands of others. who have escaped previous violence and persecution.
The residents of Cox & # 39; s Bazar District often complain of being undermined by refugees willing to work illegally. for lower wages. Thousands of acres (hectares) of national forests generally traversed by wild elephants have been invaded by congested and unhealthy camps.
But Hasina's decision not to force repatriation would not hurt her to win a third term in December, according to Pinak Chakravarty, former ambbadador of India to Bangladesh and a member of the Observer Research Foundation, based in New Delhi.
"The people of Bangladesh are sensitive to the tragic situation of the Rohingya, besides the fact that they are refugees, She understands that these feelings are strong and that is why I think she would not force anyone to go, "he said.
When it became apparent that it was unlikely that refugees would be fired, tensions calmed the camps. Checkpoints at the entrance of Unchiprang, one of the refugee camps located near the town of Cox's Bazaar, were temporarily left unattended Friday morning – sign of Soothing tensions – about 500 people gathered in a mosque for Friday prayers.
imams, Abdul Hakim, told the faithful that the government could not force the Rohingya to return without Myanmar's guaranteeing their protection and civil rights, to which they raised their hands and responded "Amen ".
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Since last year, Muslims have fled Myanmar, located in western Myanmar, to flee the killings and destruction of their villages by military and Buddhist militias who have widely condemned Myanmar.
The Bangladesh Refugee Commission had planned to launch a voluntary repatriation process. an agreement with Myanmar, negotiated by the United Nations, escorting about 150 refugees from the other side of the border Thursday, despite calls from UN officials ights Watch and others have to wait until security Rohingya in Myanmar is badured.
U.N. The human rights officer, Michelle Bachelet, said earlier this week that the agency continues to receive reports of continuing violations of Rohingya rights in Rakhine, including "allegations killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests ", as well as widespread restrictions on freedom of movement, health and education.
Fearing to return home, some people on the Bangladesh repatriation list left their barracks and disappeared in other camps.
Kalam did not immediately return calls and messages on Friday, and it was not known when the process would resume.
Nabi Hossain, 45, left her shantytown at Unchiprang camp on Wednesday night. with his wife, Jamila Begum, and six other family members after witnessing increased security in the camp.
"We heard that they would come take us, we were panicked," said Hossain, adding that the family was sleeping outside and eating little because they did not want to d & # 39; a kitchen fire to attract attention.
They returned Thursday after hearing about the protest.
"If they allow us to have our rights, our citizenship, we want to go in. But if we are forced, if our rights are not granted, it is better to crush us under the wheels. from a car or to be thrown to the river, "Hossain said.
All those who fled Unchiprang did not return.
Johara, 30, a mother of five, said that her husband had left five days ago with their six-year-old daughter, traumatized after seeing Myanmar soldiers ransacking their original village. .
"My daughter is terrified and told her father to take her with him," she said.
Johara, who has a name, said that her husband went to meet her parents in another camp after she gave an interview to aid workers, and that the family discovered they were on the list. Repatriation of the Government.
As Johara waited for the return of her husband and daughter, the activities at Unchiprang returned to normal, leaving few traces of aid workers, journalists or government officials who had invaded the camp earlier in the day. week.
While refugees in Bangladesh were protesting repatriation, there was concern that another Rohingya exodus from Myanmar by sea was being prepared.
Myanmar authorities arrested 106 people suspected of being Rohingya, whose boat drifted to shore on Friday. In the morning in the constituency of Kyauktan, south of Yangon, during an attempt to sail to Malaysia.
One of the arrested people, who did not give his name, told the press that the group was coming from a Rohingya refugee camp near Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine. He added that the group had left on October 25 and that a pbadenger, a 20-year-old woman, had died of hunger.
Boat drifted to shore after deciding to return to Rakhine due to lack of supplies and attempted
Sittwe is a frequent exit point for Rohingya attempting to perform the dangerous illegal journey at sea to Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country that generally tolerates their arrival.
many such trips caused a regional crisis, especially since the policy of some countries, including Thailand, was to return the boats, even when those on board were in a desperate situation. Hundreds of unknown refugees were reported to have died at sea. Several boats made the same trip in April of this year.
Another boat that was carrying Rohingya refugees was sighted Friday near Indonesia.
Muhammad Nasir, who runs a disaster mitigation office in the northern part of Sumatra Island, Indonesia, said fishermen reported seeing a wooden boat carrying about 80 people suspected of being Rohingyas
Meenakshi Ganguly, director of Human Rights Watch for South Asia, said Friday that the continuation of Rohingya flight from Myanmar showed that repatriation plans from Bangladesh had to stay in suspense. "Myanmar could claim to be ready to welcome the refugees, but the truth is that the conditions are not safe and the Rohingya can not make a decision on voluntary returns as long as the protection of human rights will not be guaranteed by international surveillance "horrible abuses committed by the army," she said.
The Associated Press reporter, Min Kyi Thein, in Kyauktan, in Myanmar, contributed to this situation report
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