INTRODUCTION:
The Bangladesh Government is to relocate Rohingyas to the newly built facility at the Bashan Char Island. This is being done to provide a better place of living for the refugee community from Myanmar.
HIGHLIGHTS AND REASON TO BE RELOCATED:
- The transfer of the refugees is to begin after the Monsoon season if they find the new facility better than the cramped Cox’s Bazar.
- A few million Rohingyas are cramped at the Cox’s Bazar. It is a port town in the south east coast of Bangladesh.
- Around 1 million Rohingyas fled from Rakhine State of Myanmar after a military crack down in 2017. This was named “ethnic cleansing” by the United Nations.
- As Cox ‘s Bazar is crowded, the Rohingyas are being relocated to Bashan Char Island.
ROHINGYAS IN INDIA:
- There are more than 40,000 Rohingyas in India.
- As India is not a signatory of United Nations Convention on Refugees, the refugee status provided to the Rohingyas by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is irrelevant to India.
- India is currently deporting identified Rohingyas back to Bangladesh.
- India is willing to solve the crisis along with ASEAN. According to India, ASEAN has undeniable collective responsibility resolve the crisis.
- Also, India is not ready to create conflict of interests with Myanmar, as the country plays a key role in India’s Look East Policy.
AGAINST THE ISLAND:
- The Bashan Char Island is located in the Bay of Bengal. It is at a distance of 37 miles from the Bangladesh coast. It was formed very recently by Himalayan silt in 2006.
- According to environmentalists, the Bashan Char Island is prone to floods, erosion, high tides and cyclones.
However, the Bangladesh Government claims that these issues have been taken into consideration while building the houses in the island.
The activists among the Rohingyas have also raised issue of lack of mobility in the island and forced relocation.
The houses have been built four feet above the ground to protect the refugees from high tidal waves.
