Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazaar: Local people stopped INGOs, working in the Burmese refugee camps like Kutupalong official camp, Nayapara camp and the unregistered Kutupalong camp on 1 May, according to camp sources.
The Rohingya Resistance Committee (RRC), an anti-Rohingya group held demonstrations against the Rohingya refugees and blocked all INGOs working in the camp. All INGO offices were closed yesterday.
But, on April 30 at around 7: 30 pm, the Rohingya Resistance Committee (RRC) called local elders including politicians and held a meeting in Court Bazaar under Cox’s Bazaar district and spoke against Rohingya refugees. They had demanded the Bangladesh government solve the Rohingya problem by end of April 2010.
The leaders told the meeting that many Rohingya people live in Bangladesh illegally, and it is harmful for the Bangali people because the country is becoming overpopulated.
The spokesperson Hamidul Chowdhury of the Rohingya Resistance Committee (RRC) announced at end of the meeting that if the Bangladesh government does not repatriate the Rohingya refugees to Burma, they will protest. So they demonstrated against the Rohingya refugees and blocked INGOs working in the camp on May 1.
The local people blocked on-duty officers from UNHCR along with their vehicles. They also blocked the vehicles transporting the refugees for resettlement yesterday, said a refugee who was selected for resettlement.
After the meeting, the local people with police surrounded the camps (registered and unregistered). Whenever, the Arakanese Rohingya refugees came out from the camp, they were beaten by locals then handed over to the police, said an old refugee from Khutupalong refugee camp.
Camp sources said, yesterday night the local people (the Rohingya Resistance Committee (RRC)) planned to set fire to the camp. The refugees were alert at night and watched the locals.
Now, the unregistered Rohingya refugees of Kutupalong are in a critical condition and are afraid to go out to work for fear of arrest by the local people. They have been facing starvation and various problems since January 2010.
On the other hand, on April 29, the ACF called some refugee elders and said they are not allowed to work in the unregistered Kutupalong makeshift camp. So they stopped work, said a refugee.
The camp is facing many problems like sanitation which will trigger diarrhea, fever among other diseases, especially in children mostly. Closing the ACF office, will affect children in terms of nutrition. It gives biscuits to the children every week.
