A Rohingya rights group involved in
documenting alleged atrocities suffered by refugees who fled violence in
Myanmar closed its headquarters in Bangladesh after authorities shut down
electric service for undisclosed reasons, a senior leader of the group said
Friday.
“The activities of our organization are
stopped,” Ayas said. “The office of the organization has been padlocked during
the past two weeks.”
Ayas said he could not explain what led to
the closure, but acknowledged that his group had been under pressure since it
helped organize an August protest rally attended by an estimated 200,000 people
at the refugee camp.
Bangladesh orders Rohingya rights group
office locked https://lnkd.in/gusuFsm
The gathering marked the second anniversary of Myanmar’s August 2017 military crackdown, which spurred about 740,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee their homes in western Rakhine state and cross into Bangladesh.
“This organization has not been involved in
anti-government activities,” Ayas said. “Its activities are focused on
realizing the demands and rights of the Rohingya people.”
Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,
and other officials are expected to be at the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) in The Hague on Dec. 10 to 12 to defend Naypyidaw against a lawsuit filed
last month by Gambia. The complaint, filed on behalf of the 57-member
Organization of Islamic Cooperation, alleges Myanmar committed genocidal acts
against the Rohingya.
ARSPHR, whose leader Mohib Ullah had claimed
he received death threats in recent months, is the biggest of several community
groups to emerge among the Rohingya in the sprawling refugee settlements in
southeastern Bangladesh.
ARSPHR’s makeshift office of bamboo and
tarpaulin was being used as shelter and by human rights volunteers to tally
killings, arson and rapes that allegedly occurred during the military
crackdown.
Nikaruzzaman Chowdhury, chief of Ukhia’s
local administration, told BenarNews that ARSPHR had no visible activities
since the Aug. 25 rally, so authorities decided to shut off its power service.
“The unlawful electricity connection at the
office has been snapped,” he said without elaborating.
A day after the rally, Foreign Minister A.K.
Abdul Momen told reporters he was not aware that the massive demonstration had
taken place.
But days later, the government withdrew the
appointment of then-Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Muhammad Abul
Kalam and transferred at least three other officials from Cox’s Bazar to other
posts.
Authorities took tougher measures weeks
later, restricting internet access and erecting barbed wire around the camps.
Police cannot locate group’s leader
Meanwhile, police said Mohib Ullah, a teacher
who had become the ARSPHR’s face and a refugee spokesman in international
gatherings, was missing.
“Since the Aug. 25 rally, Mohib Ullah has
been absconding. His office has been closed. But we will investigate whether
the organization maintains offices elsewhere,” Abul Mansur, the
officer-in-charge of Ukhia police station, told BenarNews.
Refugee Commissioner Mahbub Alam Talukder
denied that the Bangladeshi government had any role in what happened to ARSPHR.
“We did not shut down any office,” he told
the news agency AFP. “But we will not allow anything that poses questions on
the camps’ overall law and order situation.”