Tensions mount in Rohingya camps ahead of relocation

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Tensions mounted on Sunday at refugee camps in Bangladesh holding hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims over an operation to send them back to Myanmar, from where they have fled following a military crackdown.

Dozens of refugees stood holding cloth banners opposing their transfer as UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee visited camps along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border over the weekend. Some refugee leaders said Bangladesh military officials had threatened to seize their food ration cards if they did not return.

UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee addresses a news conference after her report to the Human Rights Council at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, March 13, 2017.

Under an agreement signed last week, Myanmar is set to receive Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh at two reception centers and a temporary camp near their common border starting on Tuesday and continuing over the next two years.

The refugees refuse to go back unless their safety can be guaranteed and Myanmar grant their demands to be given citizenship and inclusion in a list of recognized ethnic minorities. They are also asking that their homes, mosques and schools that were burned down or damaged in the military operation be rebuilt.

Threatened to take away food aid

Over 655,500 Muslim Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after the Myanmar military cracked down in the northern part of Rakhine state in response to militant attacks on security forces on Aug. 25. The UN described the operation as ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, which Myanmar denies.

Rohingya elders said that Bangladeshi army officials have called or met them over the last two days, asking them to prepare lists of families from their camps for repatriation. Four of them said they were among more than 70 camp leaders – representing thousands of refugees – who met army officers at the Gungdum camp on Saturday.

Rohingya refugees walk along the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Jan. 21, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"When we said we cannot provide the lists because people are not ready to return, they asked us to bring their WP cards," said Musa, a leader at the Gungdum camp, referring to relief cards provided by the UN's World Food Programme.

Rashedul Hasan, a spokesman for the Bangladesh army, said he was not aware of army men threatening to take away food cards.

Hundreds of refugees queue up at relief centers across the camps each morning to collect food using the cards. These centers are managed by the Bangladesh army.

Rohingya refugees stand in a queue to collect aid supplies in Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Jan. 21, 2018. /Reuters Photo

UN: Rohingya returns need to be voluntary

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has repeatedly said Rohingya returns need to be voluntary.

"UNHCR has not been part of discussions (on repatriation) to date, but has offered support to engage in the process to ensure that the voices of refugees are heard," Caroline Gluck, a senior protection officer for the agency, said by email on Saturday.

"The pace of returns should be determined by the refugees themselves."

Source(s): Reuters