e_Paper, Tuesday, September 5, 2017

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2 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, <strong>2017</strong> DT ‘The Rohingya are pouring into Bangladesh like water’ Little aid for those outside camps • Adil Sakhawat CURRENT AFFAIRS Rohingya fleeing the violence in Myanmar are desperate to enter Bangladesh to save their lives. Thousands are stranded at various points along the Naf River where they await entry into the country. Those who already crossed the border are either starving or facing acute medical needs, said human rights activists and journalists working on the ground. Yesterday, thousands more journeyed across the border. Journalists stationed at the Hnila border in Teknaf said there was “literally thousands of people crossing the border. Smoke all along the border today.” UN sources say nearly 90,000 Rohingya have crossed the border to enter Bangladesh since the latest episode of military crackdown began in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on August 25, reported Reuters. However, locals and volunteers working in Teknaf said the number could easily be close to 200,000. “I can confidently say that the number of Rohingya fleeing the atrocities of Myanmar has now crossed 1.5 lakh,” human rights activist Nur Khan told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday morning. “The Rohingya are pouring into Bangladesh like water. It can be tough to estimate the actual number, but one can easily say it is 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh.” The Rohingya have built huts for themselves in the hills. As they could not bring any possessions with them, they now wait for aid, he added. Nur further said that international humanitarian agencies are providing aid inside the camps, where the new arrivals are taking shelter. Besides that, the journalists and human rights activists have not shared much, but are observing from the international humanitarian agencies outside of the camps. Only Teknaf and Ukhiya locals and some local NGOs are providing dry food and water to the new Rohingya arrivals. “But these are also inadequate. I have not yet observed any relief work being carried out outside the camps. What they in fact need is medical assistance. I have seen many mothers give birth to new babies, but the mothers have become weak. Many elderly Rohingya need medical assistance. Many with bullet wounds need immediate medical treatment when entering Bangladesh,” Nur further said. When the Dhaka Tribune asked Joseph Tripura, the Bangladesh spokesperson of UNHCR, about the humanitarian assistance it has provided, he said: “We are in fact engaged in providing assistance to the Rohingya who have already arrived inside the registered refugee camps. “We cannot say much about outside the camps, but we are offering shelter, food and other humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya, whose numbers are estimated to be about 21,500 in the Kutupalong Rohingya registered camp and 8,500 in the Nayapara Rohingya refugee camp.” Other than the UNHCR, the Dhaka Tribune tried to contact the International Organization for Migration as well to find out about its humanitarian assistance to the new arrivals, but was unable to contact anyone. • MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU News UN sources say nearly 90,000 Rohingya have crossed the border to enter Bangladesh since the latest episode of military crackdown began in Myanmar’s Rakhine state on August 25 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU Long walk for survival: A tale of fleeing Rohingya • Adil Sakhawat from Bichari border CURRENT AFFAIRS Leaving behind most of their belongings back home, they had started the journey through the mountain range in Myanmar’s Rakhine state five to seven days back, only to avert the ongoing persecution there. Walking even up to 100 kilometres, they finally managed to escape with their life and enter Bangladesh, taking temporary shelter in a mountainous region of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The Dhaka Tribune came across such 1,500 people in Bichari, a remote area in the hilly Bandarban, who narrated the miseries they suffered while on their way to Bangladesh. Bichari is also very close to the Myanmar border. At a remote location which is a six-hour walk and around 10 kilometres from Ukhia upazila of Cox’s Bazar, thousands of people arrive every day. They had to trek through four mountain ranges in Myanmar outside the ones in the CHT, which takes almost a week in many cases. Abdul Alim, who carried his octogenarian mother on his back, said: “We have been walking for the last four days and my mother is too old to walk so long. So I had to carry her.” Throughout their journey, they could not eat or drink properly, he said, adding, they had been passing the last few days either half-fed or without food on many occasions. Then again, he was happy to be still alive. “I am elated that at least we are not dead,” he said. Hasina, another Rohingya, was also being carried in the same manner by her husband as she just gave birth to a child soon after entering Bandarban. They were among the 1,500 people, including the elderly, children and women, who were found walking through the woods of Bichari towards Ukhia on Saturday. Even some pregnant mothers and physically-challenged people were among them. Only ARSA can do something positive for the Rohingya which may not be possible for any other organisation Ten months’ pregnant Ayesha said she was feeling so tired that she might start having labour pains in a few hours. Many of them also brought along domestic animals with them. Children became scared when this reporter tried to talk to them and take pictures. Marium Begum, mother of a four-year-old boy, said her son was seized with panic ever since the atrocities in their locality started. Calling Myanmarese forces Moghs, she said her son saw their homes being torched and people being tortured and killed, which left him traumatised. Marium said she still had no idea about whether her husband was alive or not. With the fear of being pushed back by Bangladeshi authorities on their mind, the Rohingyas had set off from six villages in Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships under Rakhine State, said many of the ill-fated. ARSA men helping exodus Meanwhile, the reporter found several youths supporting Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in the Bichari area. They were around 20 to 25 years old, and were mainly assisting the female Rohingyas to get to Ukhia. They dressed up the way the ARSA members do, as shown in the videos of the insurgent group which are available online. When asked, some of the youths admitted supporting the insurgent outfit, though many of them denied the fact primarily. One of them, without revealing his identity, said: “Only ARSA can do something positive for the Rohingyas which may not be possible for any other organisation.” The evidence of ARSA helping the Rohingya people enter Bangladesh was attested by many, who already reached the refugee camps in Ukhia. Boni Adam, an elderly Rohingya man, said ARSA was fighting to ensure their rights in Myanmar. “The ARSA leaders are also eyeing a justice system for us in the Rakhine State,” he said. After the recent tension started on August 25, ARSA attacked at least 30 camps of Myanmar security forces. The retaliation came following the Myanmarese forces started clearance operation from the second week of August, forcing thousands of Rohingya people to flee their homes. •
News TUESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 5, <strong>2017</strong> DT Myanmar blocks all UN aid to Rohingyas • Tribune Desk CURRENT AFFAIRS Myanmar has blocked all United Nations aid agencies from delivering vital supplies of food, water and medicine to thousands of desperate civilians at the centre of a bloody military campaign in Myanmar, reports the Guardian. The world body halted distributions in northern Rakhine state after militants attacked government forces on August 25 and the army responded with a counter offensive that has killed hundreds. The Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Myanmar told the Guardian that deliveries were suspended “because the security situation and government field-visit restrictions rendered us unable to distribute assistance”, suggesting authorities were not providing permission to operate. “The UN is in close contact with authorities to ensure that humanitarian operations can resume as soon as possible,” it said. Aid was being delivered to other parts of Rakhine state, it added. In the deadliest violence for decades in the area, the military is accused of atrocities against the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority, tens of thousands of whom have fled burning villages to neighbouring Bangladesh, many with bullet wounds. Staff from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), have not conducted any field work in northern Rakhine for more than a week, a dangerous halt in life-saving relief that will affect poor Buddhist residents as well as Rohingya. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it also had to suspend distributions to other parts of the state, leaving a quarter of a million people without regular food access. Sixteen major non-government aid organisations – including Oxfam and Save the Children – have also complained that the government has restricted access to the conflict area. Humanitarian organisations are “deeply concerned about the fate of thousands of people affected by the ongoing violence” in northern Rakhine, said Pierre Peron, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in Myanmar. Refugees who have made it to Bangladesh during the past week have told horrific stories of “massacres” in villages that they say were raided and burned by soldiers. Along miles of the border, thick black smoke can be seen rising from small settlements surrounded by green fields. The government blames insurgents for burning their own homes and accuses them of killing Buddhists and Hindus, a claim repeated by some residents. Although the Rohingya have suffered oppression for decades, the recent bout of violence is seen as a dangerous escalation because it was sparked by a new Rohingya militant group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. The military says 400 people have been killed, the vast majority of them “terrorists”, although a government block on access to Rakhine makes it impossible to verify official figures. Suu Kyi faces chorus of anger Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai and Muslim countries in Asia led a growing chorus of criticism on Monday aimed at Myanmar and its civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the plight of its Rohingya Muslim minority. The growing crisis threatens Myanmar’s diplomatic relations, particularly with Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia where there is profound public anger over the treatment of the Rohingya. The Maldives announced on Monday that it was severing all trade ties with the country “until the government of Myanmar takes measures to prevent the atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Indonesia’s foreign minister Retno Marsudi met Suu Kyi as well as Myanmar’s army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Monday in a bid to pressure the government to do more to alleviate the crisis. Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif added in a recent tweet: “Global silence on continuing violence against #Rohingya Muslims. Int’l action crucial to prevent further ethnic cleansing - UN must rally.” Muslim-majority Malaysia has also seen public protests since the latest round of violence began. Since the latest fighting broke out, al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen has called for retaliatory attacks against Myanmar while the Afghan Taliban called on Muslims to “use their abilities to help Myanmar’s oppressed Muslims”. • ‘Rohingyas need to be put in a safe zone in Myanmar’ • Asif Showkat Kallol CURRENT AFFAIRS Finance Minister AMA Muhith has urged the global leaders` to push Myanmar in creating a “safe zone” inside its territory for the Rohingya who are facing brutal persecution. “We are worried and angry about this crisis. I think this needs the international community’s urgent intervention,” he told reporters yesterday at his Secretariat office. He said the Myanmar government would not create such safe zone on its own and the UN would have to force them for the protection of the Rohingya Muslims. A UN peacekeeping force will have to guard that safe zone and also bar the “rogue Myanmar army” from coming anywhere near that place, Muhith said. “We are trying our best. But it is not fair that we take all the Rohingya in. Our country remembers the shelter we got in India [in 1971]. That is also why we cannot drive these homeless people away.” Calling the Myanmar government “rogue,” he said: “Action should be taken against it and the international community should take it, which of course Kofi Annan and others are trying to do... We are seeking international cooperation to solve the crisis while doing our best to maintain a good relationship with Myanmar.” • The Kutupalong camp alone is accommodating around 20,000 Rohingya with some 10-15 people co-existing in a single, small shanty MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU Fleeing Rohingya pack refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar • Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar CURRENT AFFAIRS Refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf and Ukhiya upazilas have been filled to capacity following the huge influx of Rohingya during the recent violence in Rakhine state of neighbouring Myanmar. Every day for the past two weeks, an endless caravan of people has been flowing across the border, light of possessions but weighed down by the traumas they have left behind. The many thousands of Rohingya refugees are seemingly desperate to confirm their status in the makeshift camps in the Kutupalong and Balukhali areas of Ukhiya and in the Leda, Nayapara and Shamlapur areas of Teknaf. The Kutupalong camp alone is accommodating around 20,000 Rohingya, with this Dhaka Tribune correspondent finding some 10-15 people co-existing in a single, small shanty. They face a wide range of difficulties including sanitation. “Members of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and the Bangladesh Coast Guard have been taking stern initiatives to prevent the Rohingya influx, but the current situation is a bit different than before,” Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, Md Ali Hossain, told the Dhaka Tribune. The deputy commissioner said a control room was about to be set up in his office from where anyone would be able to get the latest update on the Rohingya issue. The contact number of the control room was however not revealed. Additional Superintendent of Police in Cox’s Bazar, Afruzul Haque Tutul, said the BGB and coast guard have been relentlessly working along the border areas in a bid to avert any sort of untoward incident. • BNP: Shelter Rohingyas in Bangladesh • Manik Miazee CURRENT AFFAIRS BNP again requested the government to provide shelter, security and to take necessary steps for the Rohingya who are being forced to flee, following a fresh spurt of violence in Rakhine state. The party’s Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said: “On behalf of the BNP, I again call on the Bangladesh government to provide the Rohingya with shelter in Bangladesh and stand with them.” Rizvi made the statement at a press briefing yesterday at 12pm. He added that everyone should stand with the oppressed community for the sake of humanity. The secretary general held the briefing at the party central office and said, while undergoing treatment in London, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia last week appealed to the government to provide a safe haven to the Rohingya. On August 28, in a party statement, Khaleda expressed deep concern and condemnation over the Myanmar security forces attack on the Rohingya, which left many dead. She then asked the Bangladesh government to take diplomatic initiatives in order to send the Rohingya back only after ensuring the security of their lives and property. •
Page 1: SECOND EDITION TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
Page 5 and 6: News 5 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 E
Page 7 and 8: News TUESDAY, Eid a bittersweet occ
Page 9 and 10: News Eid grace? 20 militants get ba
Page 11 and 12: Advertisement 11 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER
Page 13 and 14: Opinion 13 DT TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5,
Page 15 and 16: Tip of the iceberg Opinion 15 We ne
Page 17 and 18: Biz Info NCC Bank donates Tk3crore
Page 19 and 20: PLAYS OF THE DAY Dead straight Lyon
Page 21 and 22: Sports 21 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 201
Page 23 and 24: Showtime 23 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2

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