Handful of Rohingyas sent to Bhashan Char: Foreign Minister
Bangladesh has sent a small band of Rohingyas, who entered Bangladesh a couple of days ago from Myanmar in small boats, to Bhasan Char Island.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen confirmed UNB about any of it saying good facilities are there for them.
Your choice has been taken aiming to keep Rohingya camps clear of coronavirus, he said adding that no Rohingya up to now tested positive in the Rohingya camps.
Dr Momen said locals first traced the Rohingyas via Myanmar in small boats.
They then informed the Bangladesh Coast Guard officials who detained the Rohingyas.
Later, the Rohingyas, no less than 70, were sent to Bhasan Char in a coastal ship, Dr Momen said adding, “There’s an excellent facility in place.”
UNHCR, earlier, said they received reports of boats with Rohingyas aboard being denied entry to countries in your community.
The Rohingyas are reportedly from those two boats that have been floating in deep sea for weeks.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen, earlier, explained that the around 500 Rohingyas who were in two boats not in as well as nearby the Bangladesh maritime border.
Based on the law of the seas, he described, other countries in the region have responsibilities to save lots of the Rohingyas.
“Bangladesh has shouldered very heavy tasks for the Rohingya refugees and should not be left alone to handle these challenges," Steven Corliss, UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh, told UNB mentioning that turning desperate persons away cannot be an answer.
The UNHCR said they are deeply worried about the fate of the people in these boats, as weather conditions can transform rapidly in the Bay of Bengal in this season.
According to reports, the UN refugee agency said, the persons aboard have little food or water.
The UNHCR Spokesperson said they have contacted the federal government requesting it that the people be allowed to safely disembark and providing assurances that UNHCR would ensure their safe quarantine as a precaution against any possible threat of COVID-19 infection.
Bangladesh said it generally does not want to see the loss of a single life at sea and it is time for other countries to come forward and share the responsibilities.
Despite limited resources, Bangladesh has recently given shelter to around 1.1 million Rohingyas on humanitarian ground.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, UNHCR and the Human Rights Watch requested Bangladesh to simply accept all of those other Rohingyas floating at deep sea.
Bangladesh responded to those requests noting that Bangladesh has not taken sole monopoly approach of sheltering Rohingyas.
Bangladesh sent letters to them citing the International Law that it is the duty of surrounding countries of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to talk about the duty of helping the distressed people on the deep sea.
There are eight countries in your community namely Myanmar, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh made it clear that humanitarian disaster created by Myanmar should not be the only real responsibility of Bangladesh on the globe to shoulder it.
Previously May 1, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said practically 400 Rohingyas who arrived by boat recently are mostly registered with the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar district.
By the end of the 2 weeks quarantine period, they'll return to their families and their shelters within the camps, said the state at the UNHCR mentioning that a large proportion already are registered in Cox’s Bazar camps.
On April 16, members of the Bangladesh Coast Guard rescued 396 Rohingya people from a boat which was denied entry by Malaysia.
Bangladesh has given shelter to around 1.1 million Rohingyas on humanitarian ground.
