Teknaf - Local villagers demonstrated against the resettlement of Burmese Muslim refugees in third countries on Sunday outside the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar in southern Bangladesh. They alleged that UNHCR's resettlement programme has attracted more refugees into their country.
The Rohingya Resistance Committee organized local villagers for the demonstration, blocking the entrances to the refugee camp. They demanded an immediate halt to resettlement of refugees to third countries and instead sought their repatriation to their home country.
No NGO staff members or vehicles, including those of the UNHCR, were allowed to enter the camp during the protest.
"The international NGOs must stop petting the refugees. They should not try to resettle the refugees in third Western countries and should persuade them to go back to their own country, because resettlement has resulted in more refugee influx into our impoverished country," said Mohammed Hossain, one of the protesters of the RRC.
He said that the NGOs might arrange to send the poor local villagers to the developed foreign countries if they would like to give the privileges of resettlement to the refugees.
Eight refugee families, who were scheduled to depart from official camps yesterday for resettlement in Australia had to have their trips postponed due to the villagers' protest, said a UNHCR staff member, who is not authorized to speak to the media.
The incident took place just two days after a high-level delegation of Western diplomats visited the refugee camps to survey the situation.
There are about 28,000 Burmese Muslim refugees currently sheltered in two official camps and thousands of others staying in two unofficial, makeshift camps in Ukhia and Teknaf Townships in Cox's Bazaar District in southern Bangladesh.
Refugee repatriation to Burma has been stalled for more than four years due to the lack of cooperation by the Burmese regime and the reluctance of the refugees to return to their homeland, as they fear repression by the junta.
Burmese Muslim refugees have now been given the chance to settle in third countries, including Canada, USA, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
According to local sources, the Rohingya Resistance Committee was founded by local people in Cox's Bazaar District in the beginning of this year to monitor the refugees' integration among locals and to resist fresh influx of refugees from Burma.
