The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Camps Ready But Bangladesh Delays Repatriation of Refugees
- French-Myanmar Joint Venture To Install 500 ‘Smart’ Bus Stops in Yangon
- Military Court Gives Soldiers 10 Years for Murder of 3 Kachin
- Can Another Asian Fill U Thant’s Shoes?
- Mrauk-U UNESCO Coordination Meeting Postponed After Recent Protest
- A Peacemaker’s Life in Pictures
- While Political Prisoners Released, Myanmar’s Judicial Reforms Stall
- Scandal-hit Thai Temple Helps to Stage Mass Buddhist Event in Myanmar
- Rohingya Repatriation Futile Without a Strong Security Shield
| Camps Ready But Bangladesh Delays Repatriation of Refugees Posted: 22 Jan 2018 04:35 AM PST NAYPYITAW — Although Myanmar is ready to start repatriating Muslim refugees as of Wednesday, the Bangladeshi government has yet to complete a list of the refugees who will return as agreed under a bilateral agreement. Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, said on Monday that the return would have to be delayed. He did not immediately give a new date for the repatriations to begin. "There are many things remaining," he told Reuters by phone. "The list of people to be sent back is yet to be prepared, their verification and setting up of transit camps is remaining." In late November, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreed to form a joint working committees within three weeks to work on repatriating the more than 620,000 Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh after a military crackdown triggered by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on security posts in northern Rakhine State in late August. Tents, buses, food and water supply and food have been prepared for the refugees at repatriation camps in Taungpyoletwe and Nga Khu Ya in Maungdaw, said Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye. "According to the agreement, repatriation is set to begin on Jan. 23. So, we have made preparations. If we get the list, we can start tomorrow. But we have not yet received it," the minister told reporters at parliament on Monday. By the second week of January, the Myanmar government had verified over 1,200 refugees—750 Muslims and more than 500 Hindus—as refugees entitled to return. Under the MoU, the Bangladeshi government was to ask them if they were willing to return, and send the list of returnees prior to the repatriation. According to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, returnees will be accommodated at a camp in Hla Po Khaung in northern Rakhine State, while their houses burned in clashes are rebuilt. The decision from Bangladesh to delay the start of repatriation comes as tensions have risen in the camps holding the refugees, some of whom are opposing their transfer back to Myanmar because of lack of security guarantees. In Naypyitaw, Lower House lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe of Buthidaung Township said the returnees would not be welcomed back in Rakhine State. "We have not been informed by the government about what it is doing in the repatriation process. The Arakanese community doesn't want them back as they believe that problems will flare again if they come back," he said. At the Palongkhali refugee camp, near the Naf River that marks the border between the two countries, a group of Rohingya leaders gathered early on Monday morning with a loudspeaker and a banner listing a set of demands for their return to Myanmar, Reuters reported. These include security guarantees, the granting of citizenship and the group's recognition in Myanmar's list of ethnic minorities. The Rohingya are also asking that homes, mosques and schools that were burned down or damaged in the military operation be rebuilt. Bangladesh army officials arrived at the protest and dispersed the crowd of 300. Witnesses said they saw the army take away one of the Rohingya leaders who was holding a banner. Dr. Win Myat Aye, who is also vice-chairman of Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD), and Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu inspected accommodations for returnees at repatriation centers on Jan. 15. Additional reporting by Reuters. The post Camps Ready But Bangladesh Delays Repatriation of Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| French-Myanmar Joint Venture To Install 500 ‘Smart’ Bus Stops in Yangon Posted: 22 Jan 2018 04:29 AM PST YANGON — A French-Myanmar joint venture has won an exclusive 20-year contract to sell advertising on street furniture in the commercial capital Yangon, including the installation of 500 hi-tech bus stops. FMIDecaux—a joint venture between First Myanmar Investment Company (FMI) and JCDecaux, a worldwide outdoor advertising company based in France—signed the contract with the Yangon City Development Committee on Saturday. JCDecaux is also a partner in a flyover art project involving the reconfiguring and redesigning of six flyovers in Yangon. In a press release Monday, JCDecaux announced that under the new contract, the joint venture will design and install 500 new bus stops featuring advertising displays and city information panels (CIPs). The bus stops will be equipped with USB ports. LED screens on the roof will show buses' estimated time of arrival. Each of the 500 CIPs will comprise one advertising panel and one panel reserved for displaying official city information, according to a press release issued on Monday. Some CIPs will be equipped with battery recycling receptacles and drinking fountains, it said. The YCDC estimated that 300 existing bus stops will be replaced with new ones within 18 months from June, starting with those on the main bus routes such as Pyay and Kabar Aye Pagoda roads. All 500 new bus stops will be finished in three years. The request for tenders for the project was made on Jan. 3, 2017. About five companies tendered bids. FMIDecaux's winning bid proposes total investment of US$13 million in the project, including operation and maintenance of new bus stops and CIPs. FMI Company official U Tun Tun told local media at the contract-signing ceremony that 3 to 15 percent of the profit from advertising sales will go to the government. "We would like to upgrade the bus stops in Yangon to the level of other 'smart' cities in accordance with international standards. But the 500 new bus stops will not be enough; Yangon has over 2,000 bus stops," Yangon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein said at the ceremony. Upgrading bus stops is part of the Yangon regional government's plan to improve public transportation. The chief minister said the remaining existing bus stops would be upgraded by the YCDC. The post French-Myanmar Joint Venture To Install 500 'Smart' Bus Stops in Yangon appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Military Court Gives Soldiers 10 Years for Murder of 3 Kachin Posted: 22 Jan 2018 03:12 AM PST MANDALAY — A military court in Mansi Township, Kachin State, sentenced six soldiers to 10 years in prison on Friday for the killing of three Kachin men in May, according to a relative of one of the victims. "Chief of Staff Major Zeyar Oo, Captain Luan Moe Aung, Captain Kyaw Zin Myint, Lieutenant Myo Thu Zaw, Lance Corporal Shine Htet Aung and Private Phyo Ko were found guilty and they were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labor," said Daw Laphai Nanba, the mother of Maran Brang Seng, one of the dead men. Relatives of the victims and a few local civil society representatives were invited to the military court for the sentencing, the first time civilians have been invited to observe a military court session. "We only know they were sentenced like that. We are glad that the guilty are being punished; they deserved it. However, the army should give us compensation as well because our family members were the ones who looked after us," Maran Brang Seng said. The relatives and civil society representatives said they wanted to know which prison the soldiers will be sent to so that they can make sure they are serving their sentences. "Although it is fair enough and the military court was more transparent with this case, we also want to know at which prison they will have to serve their prison terms," said a civil society representative who asked to remain anonymous because the army told him not to speak to the media. "We want to make sure they really serve the prison terms according to the law," he said. "We also hope that the army will stop its brutal actions in the future to avoid such sad and cruel incidents." Nhkum Gam Awng, 31, Maran Brang Seng, 22, and Labya Naw Hkum, 27, from the Maihkawng camp for internally displaced people in Mansi, were arrested by Battalion 319 on May 25. Their bodies were found on May 28. Within days, the office of the military's commander-in-chief announced that it was launching an investigation into the deaths. The post Military Court Gives Soldiers 10 Years for Murder of 3 Kachin appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Can Another Asian Fill U Thant’s Shoes? Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:34 PM PST During his 10 years as UN secretary general, the late U Thant proved a straight-talking, self-assured and effective diplomat. Decades after his death, The Irrawaddy's Aung Zaw opined that the current crop of Asian leaders would be hard pressed to match his legacy in the post. On U Thant's 109th birthday, The Irrawaddy revisits this article from its September 2006 edition. If the job goes to Asia for the first time in 35 years, the late Burmese diplomat will be a hard act to follow Will an Asian succeed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan when he ends his final five-year term in December? Although there is no strict geographical rotation system for the job, many feel that it is time it went to an Asian again—for the first time since Burma's U Thant completed a double stint in 1971. US President George W Bush recently indicated that Washington will support an Asian candidate, and despite the increasing difficulties of holding the top job there is no shortage of aspirants in Asia. They include Surakiart Sathirathai, one of Thailand's deputy prime ministers, India's Shashi Tharoor, currently the UN's under secretary-general for communications and public information, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, and Sri Lankan Jayantha Dhanapala, a former UN under secretary-general for disarmament. The first UN secretary-general, Trygve Lie, once described the UN post as the most impossible job on earth. But that won't deter Asian candidates who sometimes audaciously lobby for the job. One of them is Surakiat Sathirathai, a former foreign minister who has backing from Asean and reportedly also from the Chinese. But he faces political troubles at home, especially from human rights groups, and where he has a reputation for confronting opponents by issuing libel actions against them. In a late attempt to curry favor, Surakiart told Asean he would push for democratic reforms in Burma if he is chosen to replace Annan. Many Burmese would say this will not be an easy task. Burma and the UN have had an uneasy relationship in recent years as the junta came under strong criticism, if little action, from the New York body. But 40 or so years ago, Burma's image at the UN was much brighter—thanks to the decade-long reign of U Thant as UN chief from 1961.  U Thant started out as Burma's permanent representative at the UN before becoming acting secretary-general after incumbent Dag Hammarskjold died in a plane crash. U Thant, 52, subsequently held the job until 1971. Colleagues at the UN said that Hammarskjold and U Thant came from two different worlds: one, a Swedish aristocrat, reserved and aloof; the other modest, down to earth and outspoken. Those who knew them well dubbed Hammarskjold the "eastern mystic," while U Thant was judged "direct, almost Western." U Thant's press secretary, Rames Nassif, recalled in his book "U Thant in New York, 1961-1971," that his boss had a straight-talking but also humorous manner. For example, there was a rumor at UN Headquarters that the French disdained U Thant for being "too short" and not speaking French. U Thant heard the rumor and told his friends that he was taller than Napoleon, who did not speak English. U Thant quickly proved to be a fine and self-composed diplomat who could easily mingle with the world's most powerful leaders — from Moscow's Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, with whom he swam in the Black Sea, to Pope Paul VI. Former UN under secretary-general Brian Urquhart once recalled: "In a series of critical situations, U Thant used his limited constitutional authority to the utmost to pre-empt or to curtail disaster."  Indeed, several conflicts were waiting to test his skills and ability. U Thant was involved in the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, and conflict between India and Pakistan in 1965. Colleagues who traveled with him to crisis zones recalled that on many occasions U Thant made bold and single-minded attempts to restore peace. But he was blamed for failing to solve the Middle East conflict in the 1960s, although well defended by Urquhart: "U Thant proved a useful scapegoat for the Middle East War of 1967, but it is less often recalled that he was the only world statesman who went to Cairo before that war to reason with President Nasser." U Thant was also instrumental in securing China, emerging from world isolation, a seat in the UN. And he was media savvy and friendly to the press. Nassif recalls: "For U Thant, the press conference was a pleasant experience. He had natural warmth towards journalists and was comfortable with them. He enjoyed thinking of himself as a former journalist, and often mentioned this. He was keenly aware that an enlightened information program was essential for the success of the United Nations." Kofi Annan agrees. The post Can Another Asian Fill U Thant's Shoes? appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Mrauk-U UNESCO Coordination Meeting Postponed After Recent Protest Posted: 21 Jan 2018 11:34 PM PST YANGON — A work coordination meeting on the nomination of Mrauk-U to the UNESCO World Heritage List scheduled to be held from Jan. 26–27 was postponed following last week's protest in the old Arakanese capital. On Tuesday, hundreds of Mrauk-U residents took to the streets to protest the government's ban on celebrating the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Rakhine Dynasty. The government said it had banned the annual event because the venue was a former palace that had been listed as a national heritage site. Seven residents were killed and 12 others were injured during the police crackdown on protestors. "We sent invitations to the meeting. But, it is now difficult to come to the town because of security concerns. The meeting will likely be held in Yangon instead, but that has not yet been officially confirmed," said Daw Khin Than, chairwoman of the Mrauk-U cultural heritage conservation group. The Union culture minister, the Chinese and Italian ambassadors to Myanmar, Arakanese historians, and members of UNESCO were set to attend the meeting to discuss the progress of preparations and future plans for nomination. The draft nomination to include Mrauk-U as a World Heritage Site is set to be submitted in September with the final submission to be delivered by January 2019, according to Daw Khin Than. The archaeology department under the culture ministry has formed 14 sub-committees to help prepare the nomination. "I personally feel that the image of Mrauk-U is severely damaged [by the incident]. We have been trying to enhance its image to get UNESCO's recognition. While we are trying every means to make the world know Mrauk-U and there is certain progress toward this end, this incident has exerted serious impact," she said. She believes that the inscription of Mrauk-U on the UNESCO World Heritage List will help solve the sectarian divide in Rakhine State to a certain extent. UNESCO officials started their survey of the old Arakanese capital in February last year. Mrauk-U is located on the Kaladan River in northern Rakhine State, some 60 kilometers inland from the state capital Sittwe. From the 15th century to the late 1800s, Mrauk-U was the seat of Arakanese kings, who at the height of their power controlled an area covering large parts of eastern Bengal, modern-day Rakhine State and the western part of Lower Myanmar. Much of the city's remains are well preserved and some 380 historic temples are scattered between the lush hills of northern Rakhine. Internal violence between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that erupted in mid-2012 has driven down tourist numbers to the area. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. The post Mrauk-U UNESCO Coordination Meeting Postponed After Recent Protest appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| A Peacemaker’s Life in Pictures Posted: 21 Jan 2018 09:37 PM PST U Thant, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, would have turned 109 today. During his 10-year-and-one-month tenure at the UN, U Thant criticized both West and East for actions and attitudes that he considered threatening to world peace. He helped defuse the Cuban missile crisis, which had brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. He also helped end a civil war in Congo, among other achievements. The former secretary-general died of cancer in 1974 at the age of 65. The Irrawaddy commemorates U Thant's 109th birthday with some rare pictures of his time at the UN, with his family and with international dignitaries. The post A Peacemaker's Life in Pictures appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| While Political Prisoners Released, Myanmar’s Judicial Reforms Stall Posted: 21 Jan 2018 08:29 PM PST YANGON — Hundreds of political prisoners have been released from Myanmar's jails in amnesties in recent years, including dozens freed in January 2016, days before democracy champion Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party took power for the first time. Former President Barack Obama announced the lifting of US sanctions in October 2016, citing the release of political prisoners and improved human rights as well as the elections that brought Daw Suu Kyi to power. Suu Kyi herself had been under house arrest for 15 years before being released in 2010. Prison reform, however, has been put on the back burner under the new government. A new prison law was discussed in parliament in 2015, but was not passed. It has not been taken up since then by a new set of lawmakers – most of them from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) – who took their seats in early 2016. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Myanmar group formed by former detainees, says prison reform should include repealing a law that gives police broad powers of arrest and pre-trial detention. The AAPP advocates overhauling vague or outdated rules in the Jail Manual and Penal Code, much of it written during British colonial rule. But the AAPP and rights groups caution that any new legislation on prison reform would not stop politically motivated prosecutions, which would need to be addressed with specific judicial and legal reforms. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's government pardoned, released or dropped charges against hundreds of political prisoners in the month after it took office. But today, 46 people are serving prison sentences for political activities, and another 52 political prisoners are in jail awaiting trial, the AAPP says. Other Priorities NLD Party spokesman Aung Shin told Reuters prison reform was not yet on the legislative agenda because of other priorities. "There are so many things to do as MPs, it may be a part of the reasons for not including prison reform in the parliament discussions," Aung Shin said. He also said, however, prisons should be part of a broader examination of legal and judicial reform that the party and legislature was planning. He did not give a time frame for any contemplated legislation. AAPP says that 120 former political prisoners from the NLD party are members of the national parliament or regional assemblies. "There are so many former political prisoners in the NLD party, and even in the current Parliament," said Aung Myo Kyaw, head of AAPP's Yangon office. "It's sad they aren't considering this issue." The military did not respond to requests for comment. The home affairs ministry says it has improved prison conditions across the country. A ministry report in March said the Correctional Department had relaxed rules on family visits and improved education programs. Rule of Law Many of the political prisoners, including some today, were jailed in Insein, a 19th-century prison in the north of Yangon that had a notorious reputation for torture, hunger strikes and rioting over inhumane conditions until Myanmar began transitioning to civilian rule in 2011. For decades, Insein prison, which has held politicians and poets alongside murderers, thieves and drug dealers, was emblematic of oppressive junta rule and Myanmar's poor record when it came to the rule of law. Some prisoners were kept isolated or were physically and mentally abused while in jail, former inmates say. Amnesty International said misbehaving prisoners, including political prisoners on hunger strike, were still kept shackled in filth in kennels meant for dogs as recently as 2011. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself was briefly held in a hut in the prison compound between spells of house arrest. Leaders of the NLD spent time there before Myanmar’s military rulers started a transition to democracy in 2011 that brought both the release of hundreds of political prisoners and an improvement to prison conditions. Insein is where Reuters journalists Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 have been detained as they face an investigation into whether they breached Myanmar's Official Secrets Act after the two were detained on Dec. 12. Built during British colonial rule in the 19th century, Insein covers about 200,000 square meters – larger than New York's Grand Central station. By some accounts, conditions there have gotten a lot better. Kyaw Zwa Naing, detained in Insein for two weeks in June after writing a satirical article mocking the military, said "the prison officers treated us well." "We could access food supply without limitation. No one threatened us," he said. Overcrowded After an inspection in March, the government-backed Myanmar National Human Rights Commission identified overcrowding as a problem and recommended building new dormitories. "The unlucky ones have to sleep right next to the toilet. In Myanmar, we can't provide international standard cells for inmates," Commissioner Yu Lwin Aung told Reuters. Political prisoners and those accused of other non-violent offences are housed with inmates both accused and convicted of violent crimes, according to the AAPP, which regularly interviews recent inmates. Family members say the Reuters reporters each have their own cell and sleep on mats on raised platforms. However, they say the two are fearful because they are being held in the same block as both suspected and convicted criminals. Min Tun Soe, a deputy director and spokesperson for the Prison Department said overcrowding was no longer a concern – the prison now houses 12,000 inmates after increasing its capacity to 10,000. "There's lots of reform going on in the prisons, such as new budgets for food supplies, healthcare and education opportunities for inmates, and also reforming the moral behavior of inmates," he said. "The situation is different than it was before," he said. The post While Political Prisoners Released, Myanmar's Judicial Reforms Stall appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Scandal-hit Thai Temple Helps to Stage Mass Buddhist Event in Myanmar Posted: 21 Jan 2018 08:19 PM PST MANDALAY — Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in Myanmar's second largest city on Sunday for an event partly organized by a scandal-hit Thai temple whose abbot is wanted for questioning on money-laundering allegations. The Dhammakaya temple's foundation helped organize the mass alms-giving for an estimated 20,000 monks on the runway of an abandoned airport in central Mandalay. Thailand's largest and wealthiest temple, Dhammakaya has staged similar spectacles at its vast complex north of Bangkok, which police besieged last year in a fruitless search for its fugitive abbot. The Mandalay event aimed to "tighten the relationship between both Myanmar and Thailand [and] unite the Theravada monkhood" in the region, according to a Dhammakaya Foundation press release. Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka are predominantly Buddhist countries that follow the religion's Theravada branch. In Mandalay, a center for Buddhist learning crowded with temples and monasteries, monks in burgundy or orange began filing barefoot into the old airport before dawn. Almost all the monks at the ceremony were from Myanmar and there were also thousands of local lay people attending along with about 100 monks and other Buddhists from Thailand and Sri Lanka, according to Dhammakaya temple. Mandalay is home to the monk Wirathu, the self-styled "Buddhist bin Laden" famous for his anti-Islamic sermons, but there was no sign that he attended the mass alms-giving. "It's such a wonderful ceremony. I live in Mandalay, and it's never happened like this before," said Ven Ya Ma, 40, who led a group of about 30 monks from the city's Ma Soe Yein monastery. Ven Ya Ma opposed the actions of the Thai police against the Dhammakaya temple, which he said was only promoting Buddhism worldwide. "People are worried that Buddhism is in danger," he said. In March, Thai police abandoned a three-week siege of the Dhammakaya temple's complex, which is nearly 10 times the area of the Vatican City and centers around a giant, UFO-shaped golden stupa. Police wanted to question the abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, about alleged money-laundering and building violations, but gave up after protests by monks and meditating devotees. His whereabouts are unknown. Dhammakaya claims millions of followers in Thailand and around the world, and in recent years has forged closer ties with Myanmar's Buddhists. Wirathu is a leading light in Ma Ba Tha, a religious group accused of whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar. A brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, has driven about 650,000 Rohingya Muslims over the border into Bangladesh since August. The post Scandal-hit Thai Temple Helps to Stage Mass Buddhist Event in Myanmar appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Rohingya Repatriation Futile Without a Strong Security Shield Posted: 21 Jan 2018 06:34 PM PST Even as the focus seems to have momentarily shifted to the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees, all is certainly not well in the Rohingya camps in the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh. While relief agencies and "camp-in-charge," the camps' administrators, report a growing number of disappearances of Rohingya elders and youths, another disturbing trend that has come to the fore is that of Rohingya youths being picked up without prior notice — allegedly by the Detective Branch of Bangladesh — for interrogation on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The disappearance of two siblings — Nur Kamal, 26, and Nur Kodor, 15 — from their camp in Uthiya Upazila on Dec. 14 is a case in point. According to sources, the two were returned to their camp a few days ago. No one is yet sure what could have led to their disappearance or detention for more than a month by the Detective Branch or by any other group. Just about everyone is tight-lipped about the incident, leaving it shrouded in mystery. Missing persons cases like this one and more than a dozen others over the past five months have had the grapevine working overtime. Of the many theories making the rounds in Cox's Bazar, the two about possible links to ARSA and a growing human trafficking network have set alarm bells ringing among authorities.  Could it be that the district administration of Cox’s Bazar is in possession of some solid evidence that has prompted the Detective Branch to conduct surprise raids and pick up Rohingya youths from their camps? Thus far no one is speaking up. The district authorities have refused to share information. If there is any truth to ARSA connections either to the arbitrary arrests or to the missing persons cases, then surely it would have to do with the agreement Bangladesh and Myanmar reached recently to share intelligence on any activity related to the Jihadi militant outfit. Last year the Myanmar government is said to have provided Bangladesh with a list of 1,300 people with ARSA links. Sources working for relief agencies said camp-in-charge, magistrates and police in the Balukhali area of Uthiya Upazila have specific information on the storage of camouflage uniforms and small arms in certain huts that has led the Detective Branch to carry out surprise raids. However, this information could not be independently verified because of a lack of access to the intelligence agencies. And so it remains extremely difficult to settle on a reason for such incidents. But what is worrying is that there has been a steady rise in the number of disappearances. The case of Nur Alam and Nur Kodor could remain a mystery until authorities come clean. The only thing that is known is that soon after the two disappeared their parents lodged a complaint with the police and with Balukhali 1 Block B (32) camp-in-charge Mohammad Talut. They also asked for the help of international relief agencies that may have put pressure on police to track down the two young men and ensure their safe return. Meanwhile, the other growing threats that cannot be ignored are an expanding human trafficking network and the lure of working as drug mules. The ugly face of human trafficking is rearing its head in Cox’s Bazar, making the environment even more hazardous and unsafe for the vulnerable Rohingya refugees.  This is perhaps just the beginning of what's to come. Such stories could become a fixture of the camps in Rakhine State as well when the Rohingya return from Bangladesh. A source working on the relief and rehabilitation of the Rohingya aptly summed it up like so: "The traffickers don't care where the Rohingya are as long as they can take them and sell them and get their money and they are present on both sides of the border." Cases like that of Nur Kamal and Nur Kodor have thrown up many unanswered questions and most of them point to a growing trafficking network of drug smugglers working in collusion with Muslim fundamentalist groups such as ARSA. What is even more worrying is that Rohingya youths willing to learn and engage with international organizations on relief work and community service are being targeted by radical groups in the name of freedom and a better life. Such incidents have been reported before. The media in Bangladesh and India have been reporting regularly on the growing menace of the trafficking of Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Myanmar. News stories about the human trafficking networks growing in tandem with the smuggling of drugs — mostly yaba, or methamphetamines — from Myanmar to Bangladesh and of drug cartels operating in these areas are not new. Teknaf and Uthiya share a land border with Myanmar that is a known yaba smuggling corridor. A relief agency worker speaking on condition of anonymity said "it would not be surprising if most people who have disappeared have been taken through these routes as the security presence seems to be more concentrated on the riverine bordering areas and roads going out towards the rest of Bangladesh." Groups documenting and fighting the drug- and human-trafficking trades say the problem has thrown open a Pandora's Box, corroborating reports of a nexus between the two and of Rohingya youths falling prey to the menace. It is not difficult to see the web. Those who have spent the past four months in the Rohingya camps either as relief workers or aid monitors say they fear the worst. "Vulnerable Rohingya youths and men are being used as shields for traffickers who have crossed over from Myanmar posing as refugees and have gotten mixed up with the community and live among them with absolute impunity," one of them said. The Bangladesh media are also awash with reports on a drug cartel thriving off its connections to politicians and other high-ups in Chittagong. The role of Teknaf Upzila Chairman Jafor Alam and ruling Awami League lawmaker Abdul Rahman Bodi in the yaba trade has frequently surfaced in media reports. On Dec. 6 The Dhaka Tribune of Bangladesh reported that Jafor Alam's house was raided by a narcotics joint task force on Oct. 18 and that 31 Rohingya who had allegedly smuggled yaba across the border were detained. More than 200 people have been arrested by security agencies in Bangladesh, most of them Rohingya men. If what the Bangladesh media have reported is to be believed, more than 500,000 yaba tablets have been seized since Aug. 25. Law enforcement agencies have also revealed recently that more than 500 yaba smugglers have entered Bangladesh from Myanmar since Aug. 25 by posing as Rohingya refugees. The agencies also suspect that an additional 1,000 yaba mules have slipped into the country in the past three months by other means. According to a recent report published by the Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse, about 90 percent of yaba tablets enter Bangladesh via the Naf River. According to Arup Chowdhury, the association's founding president, "yaba is being smuggled through 43 points of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border." So even as law enforcement agencies continue trying to solve the mystery of the missing persons and determine their fates, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar must ponder this growing menace as it could easily become a thorn in the side of both countries and impact the repatriation process in more ways than one. The author is a former senior journalist who has worked for national and international news media in India and elsewhere. Currently he is a contributing editor for The Irrawaddy. The post Rohingya Repatriation Futile Without a Strong Security Shield appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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