Bangladesh calls for support with Rohingya relocation plan

Some 232,000 Rohingya Muslims were already living in Bangladesh before more than 65,000 others began arriving in October 2016, fleeing violence in Myanmar. 

DAILY MAIL, 06th FEBRUARY, 2017-Bangladeshi authorities urged the international community Sunday to back a controversial plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to a remote island despite warnings it is uninhabitable.

Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali called on representatives from 60 diplomatic missions and several United Nations agencies to take “meaningful measures” to relocate the refugees.

The scheme would see the Rohingya resettled on Thengar Char island in the Bay of Bengal, where Ali said the displaced would have “better access to humanitarian assistance”.

Some 232,000 Rohingya Muslims -- both registered and unregistered -- were already living in Bangladesh before more than 65,000 others began arriving in October, fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine.

Most of those who fled to Bangladesh live in squalid conditions in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar district, which borders Rakhine state and is home to the country’s biggest tourist resort.

Last week, Bangladesh established a committee comprised of state officials in coastal districts to oversee the plan, and ordered authorities to help identify and relocate undocumented Myanmar nationals to the island.