Star Report
About 50,000 Rohingyas from the Myanmar province of Arakan have camped across
the Naf river for the last couple of days with intent to cross into Bangladesh,
sending the BDR on red alert and also closing the border.
The authorities are trying to confirm information from the Bangladesh-Myanmar
border about the possible influx of the Rohingya Muslims for fear of communal
riots in Arakan, The Daily Star correspondent from Cox's Bazar adds.
Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner Saifuddin Ahmed told The Daily Star by phone
last night that the border was sealed to roll back any influx of Rohingyas from
across the river bordering between the two neighbouring countries.
"We have mounted a watch on the border and the BDR (Bangladesh Rifles)
has been put on red alert," Saifuddin said.
On a report on Myanmar border force, NASAKA, building up troops along the border,
the district administrator described it as unconfirmed.
BBC Radio last night quoted Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan as saying the precautionary
measure was taken to head off any intrusion.
The border unease coincided with a discussion on the issue of Myanmar refugees
at a meeting between Disaster Management and Relief Minister Chowdhury Kamal
Ibne Yusuf and second and third secretaries of the US embassy in Dhaka, Joseph
B Mellott and Steptten J Wilger, on Thursday.
Chowdhury Kamal could not be reached by phone last night for comments.
From December 1991 to March 1992, between 210,000 and 250,000 Rohingyas fled
Arakan in west Myanmar to Bangladesh for fear of torture, religious persecution
and forced labour by Myanmar armed forces.
All but around 20,000 Rohingyas who fled Myanmar in 1991-92 returned home under
an initiative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
But tens of thousands more Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh since the 1991-92
exodus, with some being absorbed into UNHCR-run refugee camps in Cox's Bazar
and others integrated with the locals in and around Cox's Bazar and Teknaf.
In May 1993, UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangladesh for
cooperation to ensure a "safe and voluntary repatriation" of the Rohingyas
who opted to return home.
In November 1993, UNHCR and the Myanmar government agreed that the UN body would
assist in resettlement of the returnees.
But as the deadline for completion of repatriation of the 1991-92 Rohingyas
expired at 1997-end, the task remained unfinished with 21,800 Rohingyas still
living in two refugee camps -- Nayapara and Kutu Palong.
The Myanmar government said it would accept only 7,500 of the 21,800, whose
identities as Myanmar nationals were verified.
The UN body requested Bangladesh to integrate the remaining 14,300 with local
Bangladeshis, but Bangladesh did not agree to the UNHCR request.
Scattered repatriations have taken place since 1997, but mostly the process
stalled over the refugees' unwillingness to return and the lengthy verification
process on the Myanmar side.