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Plans to fire Rohingya refugees in Myanmar on Thursday have escalated, with reports of Bangladeshi armed forces rallies in Cox's Bazar camps and allegations that refugees have been assaulted for allegedly refused to cooperate.
The army, police and paramilitary troops have settled in several camps where more than 700,000 Rohingyas live after fleeing a genocide-related violence campaign by a UN-led investigation mission. 39, Myanmar army in August 2017.
Noor Qadar, a 29-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Jamtoli camp, said many families, even those not on the list of people Myanmar had approved, were on the run.
"The army is in the four corners of Jamtoli and Hakimpara camps, sitting, checking people and not letting them move from one camp to another," Qadar said. "People are too scared to leave their homes or eat. Some left our neighborhood at midnight along secret paths to other camps, including Kutupalong, where there is less fear of repatriation. "
Jani, 30, a Rohingya living in Camp 14, said the presence of security had doubled in the past two days in several settlements, exacerbating the panic among the Rohingya. "When the sun goes down, the security teams go to each entry point of the camps and do not leave until the next morning," he said. "People run away and spend days and nights in the forest or in other camps."
Bangladesh camp officials, known as CIC, also reportedly attacked the Rohingya who refused to cooperate. In a video, verified by the guard, Ata Ullah, a Rohingya leader of Chakmarkul Camp 21 claims to have been beaten in the office of a CIC officer "with a big stick" Monday after being unable to provide them with the Rohingya list. in his camp. "They stomped on my neck, I could not stand it," Ullah said in the movie. "You can see from my face how I was beaten."
It is the latest signal that the repatriations, which will start on Thursday, may not be voluntary, despite the many assurances given by the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister and the Refugee Commissioner not to force the Rohingya to return without their knowledge.
Dozens of Rohingya families interviewed by the Guardian, who were placed on a list of 2,200 refugees "approved" for Myanmar's return without their consent, said they did not want to return to the current conditions. Many had fled the camps and were hiding, while for others, the prospect of a return was so alarming that they had tried to commit suicide.
Nurul Islam, leader of the Rohingya community in the Unchiprang refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, said that about 50 surrounding families had started to hide.
"Last week, officials told several families that they would no longer be allowed to stay in Bangladesh and return to Myanmar, and almost all of them disappeared from their cabin in our camp in the last three or four days." declared Islam. the Guardian. "Like all Rohingya, they are too scared to return to Burma. So, they hid.
Forced repatriation also risks splitting families. Osiullah, who, like many others Rohingya, uses the same name, said to have hidden after discovering that three of his children, the youngest, five years old, were already on the list, while his wife, his wife and her other three children were not.
"I was terribly afraid to find the names of only three children," he said. "I heard that they would force us to cross the border. We left the camp because I could not take the risk. "
The UN has repeatedly called for stopping repatriation plans. UNHCR said it would neither facilitate nor provide assistance for the return, apart from questioning the Rohingya on the list and assessing their willingness to return. On Tuesday, Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the "terror and panic" she was causing to the Rohingya, who "risked" being sent back to Myanmar against their will".
Myanmar State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, who attended the ASEAN Summit in Singapore this week, made no statement. Wednesday afternoon, at a meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, Aung San Suu Kyi was forced to report on the responsibility of those responsible for the Rohingya crisis. She replied that people had "different points of view". However, it was Aung San Suu Kyi, and not Pence, who requested the meeting.
The most virulent condemnation of the Rohingya crisis was made by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who said: "It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible."
Speaking on the sidelines of his speech before his speech at the summit, he added: "They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killings."
