Bangladesh Bans Two NGOs From Rohingya Camps For Instigating Refugees To Reject Repatriation To Myanmar

Bangladesh has banned two non-government organisations (NGOs) from operating in Rohingya camps in country’s south-eastern Cox’s Bazar district for allegedly instigating the refugees to not return to Myanmar.

The two NGOs , Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and Al-Markazul Islami, were also accused of secretly helping the Rohingyas to organise a rally in camp area on 25 August, reports bdnews24.

According to the report, Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Kamal Hossain said that Dhaka had issued order to halt the two NGOs’ activities in the southeastern district bordering Myanmar.

“We will take action on behalf of the district administration as per the instructions,” Hossain was quoted in the report as saying.

Besides, the government also ordered a halt on the bank accounts of the ADRA and Al-Markazul Islami.

The move came after Bangladesh government’s failed attempt to repatriate the Rohingyas to Myanmar as during the latest repatriation effort on 22 August, not a single refugee volunteered to cross the border back to their homeland.

Over 130 aid agencies work in the three dozen camps in Cox's Bazar, where the 740,000 Rohingya fled to after Myanamar military crackdown on them two years ago, joining some 200,000 others already living here.