Rohingya onboard a ship taking them to the flood-prone Bangladeshi island of Bhasan Char on Friday
DHAKA, Dec 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 1,600 Rohingya refugees sailed on Friday from Bangladesh’s southern port of Chittagong for the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal, a naval official said.
The south Asian nation says it is only moving refugees who are willing to go and that this will ease chronic overcrowding in camps that are home to more than 1 million Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority who have fled neighbouring Myanmar.
But refugees and humanitarian workers say some of the Rohingya had been coerced into going to Bhashan Char, a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
The naval official said the Rohingya were aboard seven boats, with two more carrying supplies.
Pictures taken from aboard one of the vessels showed refugees lined up on blue plastic chairs under the watch of uniformed sailors.
“The government is not taking anyone to Bhashan Char forcibly. We maintain this position,” Foreign Minister Abdul Momen told reporters late on Thursday.
They were among more than 730,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar in 2017 following a military-led crackdown that the United Nations said was executed with genocidal intent. Myanmar denies genocide and says its forces were targeting Rohingya militants who attacked police posts.
The United Nations said in a statement it had been given “limited information” about the relocations and was not involved in preparations.
More than 300 refugees were brought to the island earlier this year after several months at sea in an attempt to flee Bangladesh. Rights groups say they are being held against their will and have complained of human rights violations. — NNN-AGENCIES
