Staff Reporter
Bangladesh has urged the British government to provide quarantine facilities for around 500 floating Rohingyas in deep sea engaging one of the Royal Naval ships loitering in the Gulf sea.
Bangladesh has also conveyed the high risk of spreading coronavirus in the congested Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar if any of the infected Rohingyas get entry into Rohingya camps afresh.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen shared the idea when British Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the United Nations Lord Ahmad made a phone call to him on Monday requesting Bangladesh to give shelter to floating Rohingyas at Bay.
“They (UK) have Royal Naval vessels in the Gulf with adequate accommodation facilities. They can send one of the vessels and rescue the floating Rohingyas at deep sea and put in quarantine inside the ship to stop the spread of coronavirus,” Dr Momen told UNB over phone.
On April 16, members of the Bangladesh Coast Guard rescued 396 Rohingya people from a boat which was denied entry by Malaysia.
“Have we taken the responsibility of having sole monopoly of sheltering Rohingyas? We don’t want to see a single loss of life at sea. It’s time for other countries to come forward to share the responsibility,” Dr Momen said.
Despite limited resources, Bangladesh has already given shelter to around 1.1 million Rohingyas on humanitarian ground and the floating 500 Rohingyas, relatively a small number, are neither in Bangladesh nor in its water interritory, he said.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, UNHCR and the Human Rights Watch requested Bangladesh to accept the rest of the Rohingyas floating at deep sea.
Bangladesh responded to those requests noting that Bangladesh has not taken sole monopoly approach of sheltering Rohingyas.
Bangladesh sent letters to them citing the International Law that it is the responsibility of surrounding countries of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea to share the responsibility of helping the distressed people on the deep sea, Dr Momen said.
There are eight countries in the region namely Myanmar, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Bangladesh, an official said.
Bangladesh expressed displeasure mentioning why the HRW, UNHCR and others are insisting on sheltering boat loads of Rohingyas to Bangladesh rather than the other countries in the region, an official told UNB.
Bangladesh made it clear that humanitarian disaster created by Myanmar must not be the sole responsibility of Bangladesh in the world to shoulder it.
“Let other countries start taking some responsibility,” Dr Momen said.
The Foreign Minister said military operation is still going on in Myanmar and Rohingya people are losing lives.
A few days ago, Rohingyas tried to enter Bangladesh territory and the rest of the Rohingya people may try again to get into Bangladesh, an official told UNB.
Despite this, he said, countries, including the ones under the European Union are investing in Myanmar. “Human rights organisations are not vocal on these issues.”
Earlier, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, sought greater coordination and responsibility-sharing by states to address the maritime movements of refugees and asylum-seekers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea saving lives.
