Postpone Rohingya relocation plan
Says US acting assistant secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asia
Appreciating Bangladesh for opening its borders to huge number of Rohingya refugees, the United States has urged the country to “postpone” its Rohingya relocation plan to Bhashan char.
“We urge Bangladesh to postpone any refugee relocations to Bhashan Char until independent experts can determine it is a suitable location,” said Alice G Wells, US acting assistant secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asia.
She made the call while delivering her statement at a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific on Tuesday, chaired by Congressman Brad Sherman.
Earlier on October 21, Bangladesh and the European Union discussed the Bhasan char relocation plan and Bangladesh reassured the “voluntary nature” of such Rohingya relocation.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam also tweeted a couple of days back saying Bhashan Char was ready to welcome Rohingya families.
“Newly-built shelters will offer educational and livelihood options and will decongest the present camps,” his tweet read.
Shahriar mentioned that cluster comes with multistoried buildings, a typical model that is hugely successful in coastal belt.
Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in congested camps of the country’s tourist hub -- Cox’s Bazar -- putting much burden on the country.
“Given Bangladesh’s own development needs, the decision Prime Minister Hasina made to open the country’s borders to over 700,000 Rohingya refugees since August 2017 deserves recognition from international partners, including the United States,” Wells said.
The hosting of Rohingyas has come with genuine consequences for Bangladesh, which was already one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the US official said.
Wells also said the government estimates host communities in Cox’s Bazar are outnumbered by Rohingyas two to one, and that these communities have endured economic disruptions, ecological damage, and uncertainty about their own future just as the Rohingya face uncertainty about theirs.
She said the United States was Bangladesh’s leading partner in responding to the humanitarian crisis with more than USD 669 million in assistance provided since August 2017.
“As we have met the immediate emergency response, we maintain that Burma [Myanmar] must create the conditions for the Rohingya’s voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation and guarantee their rights as recommended by the Annan Commission recommendations,” Wells said.
She said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has repeatedly reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to voluntary repatriation.
Bangladesh remains a “key Indo-Pacific partner” of the United States in regional stability, counterterrorism, two-way trade, development, and poverty reduction, as well as the hosting of 700,000 Rohingyas.
“We have emphasised that fully respecting democratic rights and improving transparency and accountability will contribute directly to Bangladesh’s aspirations for economic growth and development” Wells said.