Second Batch of Rohingyas Moving to Bhasanchar This Week

A second batch of Rohingyas is being relocated to Bhasanchar from the Cox's Bazar refugee camp by December 31 in Bangladesh.

State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Mohammad Enamur Rahman made this disclosure.

However, he did not say on what day of the week or how many Rohingyas were being relocated.

Earlier, a report by Reuters reported that in the second phase, one thousand refugees would be taken to Bhasanchar.

State Minister Mohammad Enamur Rahman said, "Another group of Rohingyas is being sent to Bhasanchar. The Prime Minister's Office is leading the matter."

Earlier, on December 4, 1,845 Rohingya refugees were relocated from the Cox's Bazar camp to Bhasanchar.

Amid objections from various human rights organizations, the Rohingyas were first taken by bus to Chittagong, from where they were sent to Bhasanchar by naval ships.

A statement from the UN Resident Coordinator's Office said at the time that the UN was aware of plans to relocate Rohingya refugees from Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar.

But the agency was not involved in preparing for the relocation of the refugees or in the process of identifying the Rohingya.

In August 2016, millions of Rohingya fled the country to Bangladesh in the face of genocide and oppression by the Myanmar army.

In November of that year, the government launched a project to relocate one lakh Rohingyas from Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar.

The Bangladesh Navy was given the responsibility to implement the project named Asrayan-3.

But since their first relocation was planned in 2016, Rohingyas have been reluctant to go there.

Meanwhile, the international community, including the United Nations, has always said that Rohingya refugees should not be pressured to move to Bhasanchar, but that they should make informed and free decisions.

During the first phase of the Rohingya relocation to Bhasanchar, the government said that those who had gone there, without any coercion or intimidation, were going there voluntarily.

On Sunday, a senior official at the Cox's Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner's Office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said:

The government has said that the standard of living in Bhasanchar is better than the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. However, the UN said the agency was not allowed to conduct any 'safety assessment' in Bhasanchar.