End Restrictions on Movement, Internet;
Investigate Killings of 4
(New York - HRW) – The Bangladesh government
should end restrictions on Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and access to
the internet and online communications, Human Rights Watch said today.
Government restrictions have intensified following a failed attempt to
repatriate refugees to Myanmar, a large rally by Rohingya refugees, and the
killings of a local politician and four refugees.
“Bangladesh authorities have a major
challenge in dealing with such a large number of refugees, but they have made
matters worse by imposing restrictions on refugee communications and freedom of
movement,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The authorities should take a
level-headed approach instead of overreacting to tensions and protests by
isolating Rohingya refugees in camps.”
On September 1, 2019, the Bangladesh
Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) ordered telecommunication
operators to shut down mobile phone services in the camps within seven days.
The next day, the BTRC ordered mobile network operators to shut down 3G and 4G
services in the camps each day between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. While the authorities
say the shutdown is to enhance security, they have not explained how. The
13-hour daily shutdown puts approximately one million refugees at serious risk
by cutting off communications with security, health, and other necessary
services.
On September 4, Bangladesh’s Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Defense recommended building a security fence around the
camps. A standing committee member, Muhammad Faruk Khan, said: “We have been
observing the Rohingyas are freely moving around the camps and outside.
Therefore, to ensure security we recommended taking measures so that no one can
come out of the camps and no one can enter inside the camps.”
While the authorities have a duty to protect
camp residents, security measures should not infringe upon their right to
freedom of movement outside the camps. The United Nations Human Rights
Committee has recognized that the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), to which Bangladesh is a party, applies “without discrimination
between citizens and aliens,” including refugees. The committee noted that,
“Aliens have the full right to liberty and security of the person.... They have
the right to liberty of movement.”
The government actions appear to be in
response to recent incidents involving the Rohingya refugees. A highly
publicized attempt by the Bangladesh government to repatriate Rohingya refugees
to Myanmar on August 22 failed because the refugees believe that the current
conditions in Myanmar make their return unsafe. That day, alleged Rohingya
refugees killed Omar Faruk, 30, a local leader of the ruling Awami League’s
youth wing in Teknaf. Law enforcement officers then killed four Rohingya
refugees who they said were involved in the murder. Police claim the Rohingya
were killed in “crossfire,” a phrase often used by security forces in Bangladesh
in cases of extrajudicial execution.
The authorities and some local leaders in
Cox’s Bazar also expressed alarm after a massive demonstration in Kutupalong
camp on August 25, the two-year anniversary of the Myanmar military’s ethnic
cleansing campaign in Rakhine State that caused a mass exodus of Rohingya
refugees to Bangladesh. The government suspended three officials, including the
refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, Mohammad Abul Kalam, from Cox’s
Bazar for allowing the refugees to organize such a large gathering. The
government also banned certain nongovernmental aid organizations from working
in the camps, including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and
an Islamic aid organization, Al Markazul Islami, for allegedly supporting the
August 25 rally, including by providing refugees with T-shirts for the event.
Two foreign aid workers were given notice to leave the country.
The Bangladesh government has increased the
military presence in the camps to protect law and order. But refugees said the
authorities were harassing them instead, particularly the organizers of the
August 25 rally. One Rohingya activist told Human Rights Watch that previously,
refugees would be eager to help police provide security in the camps. “But now
the protectors are turning cruel just because we gathered on August 25,” he
said. “Some of our people are being interrogated by [intelligence] agencies
continuously regarding that gathering. But we gathered there with intention to
call the Myanmar government to sit with us, not to make the Bangladesh
government anxious.”
“Bangladesh authorities and the local
community are understandably frustrated that there is no end in sight to the
Rohingya refugee crisis,” Adams said. “But they should direct their ire at the
Myanmar army and government, which caused the problem, instead of taking it out
on refugees.”
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