‘A liberal voice for Rohingyas silenced’

Mohib Ullah was a strong liberal voice for the Rohingyas, and his assassination is yet another setback to the long-stalled repatriation process, experts say.

His death is a great loss not only for the Rohingyas living in the Kutupalong refugee camps in Cox's Bazar but also for the Bangladesh government, as there is no alternative to him for now.

The experts think the government should beef up security measures at the camps, as Mohib Ullah's death may trigger  unrest there.

Mohib Ullah was working for a dignified repatriation of the Rohingyas. His death will benefit the vested quarters, including armed traffickers' groups, extortionists and extremists, they added.

"External actors and vested quarters that do not want a smooth repatriation would benefit from this assassination. This is a message from the criminals to the liberal quarters in the camps," said Professor Shahab Enam Khan of international relations at Jahangirnagar University.

"It's not that the repatriation process would stop for his death, but it would definitely mean a setback," he observed.

Rohingyas willing to return to their homeland have lost their voice and Mohib Ullah has been a solid conduit among multiple actors involved in facilitating the repatriation, the experts said.

His death shows the deteriorating law and order in the camps, and the government needs to step up security immediately.

There are some other organised groups of the Rohingyas in the camps, but most of them have some kind of criminal agenda. Mohib Ullah believed in non-violent and liberal ideals.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, executive director of Bangladesh Coast Trust, who has been working in the Kutupalong Rohingya camps, said, "A voice like Mohib Ullah was much needed to control mobs in a place like Kutupalong where 44,000 people live per kilometre."

He added that the government must take steps to protect positive and liberal voices among the Rohingyas; otherwise, it would only worsen the situation.

After the political development in Afghanistan, security measures in the refugee camps need to be even more stringent and vigilant so that militant groups cannot lure frustrated youths.

Rahman Nasir Uddin, anthropology professor at Chittagong University, who has been researching the Rohingya crisis for two decades, said, "Mohib Ullah played a vital role in organising the Rohingyas to go to Bhasan Char.

"They used to rely on him and he was taking the Rohingya cause to the global stage."

Mohib Ullah, who came to Bangladesh from Myanmar in 2017, was also the chairman of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace & Human Rights.