2 NGOs banned for instigating Rohingyas

The government has ordered two non-government organisations (NGOs) in Cox’s Bazar to stop their all sort of operations for “instigating” Rohingyas not to return to Myanmar and “secretly assisting” them to hold a rally on August 25.

The banned NGOs are Adventist Development and Relief Agency or ADRA and Al-Markazul Islami.

The government also ordered a halt on bank transactions of ADRA and Al-Markazul, according to media reports.

Md Kamal Hossain, Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar district said he had received a letter from Bureau of NGO Affairs entailing the orders 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,” he said on Wednesday.

They are accused of secretly helping the Rohingya to organise a rally in a camp area on Aug 25, the second anniversary of the Myanmar military-led operation dubbed “ethnic cleansing with genocidal intent”, said Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Ashraful Afsar.

Referring to the second failed repatriation attempt on Aug 22 to send the Rohingya back, he said that these two NGOs are also accused of instigating the refugees not to return to their homeland,

Earlier on August 29, the Bureau of NGO Affairs suspended six projects of an NGO, Mukti Cox’s Bazar, for allegedly making sharp weapons for Rohingya people. Some Rohingyas were seen carrying sharp weapons in the rally.

Before that, operations of six NGOs working for the refugees Islamic Relief, Islamic Aid, Muslim Aid, Small Kindness Bangladesh, Bangladesh Chashi Kalyan Samity, and Nomijan Asthabi Foundation-- were stopped.

On Aug 31, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the government had withdrawn a total of 41 NGOs from the refugee camps for "wrongdoings".

The government has been accusing different NGOs working for the Rohingya Muslims of being involved in suspicious activities for quite some time.

On Aug 22, the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs recommended identification of the NGOs that were allegedly impeding the repatriation as a second bid to start the process fell flat due to the Rohingyas’ refusal to go back.

The speakers in the August 25 rally reiterated the same demands they had made for return during the recent repatriation attempt.

These include giving them citizenship, ensuring their security, returning their land and giving compensation for what they have faced in the crackdown that Myanmar said was a response to militant attacks on security posts.

Source: dailysun