Hasina says 100,000 Rohingyas will be shifted to Bhasan Char soon

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said at least 100,000 Rohingya people will be relocated to Bhasan Char from the refugee camp in Teknaf.

She told Natalia Kanem, an under secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of the UN Population Fund or UNFPA, about the move on Wednesday.

Natalia met her at the Ganabhaban in the morning.

Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said Hasina stated the humanitarian grounds for giving shelter to Rohingya Muslims and told Natalia about the contribution of local residents. 

She spoke about the problems the rainy season poses and said as long as the Myanmar government does not take them back, they will be relocated to Bhasan Char where a temporary accommodation has been made for them.

Kanem appreciated Hasina administration’s efforts to tackle the Rohingya refugee crisis, Karim said.

She pledged to continue UNFPA cooperation to manage the refugees.

Around 700,000 Rohingyas crossed the border into Bangladesh after the Myanmar Army launched an ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas on Aug 25 last year following insurgent attacks on security forces in Rakhine State.

Bangladesh already sheltered 400,000 refugees who fled decades of violent persecution in Myanmar.

The two countries formed a joint panel to repatriate the recently arrived Rohingyas following an agreement.