Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bangladesh Faces Refugee Anger Over Term 'Rohingya', Data Collection

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in camps in Bangladesh began a protest on Monday (26), demanding that Bangladesh recognise their ethnicity as Rohingya and that officials and aid agencies stop sharing their family information with Myanmar.

Markets were shut at several of the refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh because of the protest. Rohingya working with non-government groups and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also boycotted their jobs as part of the strike.


"The term 'Rohingya' is very important because we have been persecuted because of our identity," the protesting refugees said in a statement, adding that while the term was banned in Myanmar, it should not be banned in Bangladesh.

More than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown in mostly Buddhist Myanmar's Rakhine State last year, according to UN agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to Rohingya insurgent attacks on security forces.

Rohingya regard themselves as native to western Myanmar's Rakhine state but Myanmar authorities and many citizens regard them as illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent.

Many are stateless as a 1982 law restricts citizenship for the Rohingya and other minorities not considered members of one of Myanmar's ‘national races’.

The Myanmar government refuses even to use the word ‘Rohingya’, as that would imply a distinct identity, instead of calling them ‘Bengali’.

Bangladesh has been urging the refugees to accept smart cards that help with identification and the distribution of aid. The smart cards, however, identify an individual as a "forcibly displaced Myanmar national" and not as Rohingya.

The protesters also expressed concern about a UNHCR plan to collect biometric data and copies of documents, as they fear the UNHCR and Bangladeshi authorities could share the data with Myanmar, which could use the information against them.

Bangladeshi authorities were not immediately reachable for comment.

Firas Al-Khateeb, a UNHCR representative, said data was being collected for a verification process which would help Rohingya refugees get better protection and ensure their access to services in Bangladesh.

"It is not linked to repatriation," he said, adding that the data was jointly maintained by Bangladesh and the UNHCR.

Refugees are refusing to return to Myanmar under a repatriation plan unless demands for justice, citizenship and the ability to go back to their original villages and lands are met.

The refugees say they had to flee from their homes after Myanmar soldiers and Buddhist civilians massacred families, burned villages and carried out gang rapes.

UN-mandated investigators have accused the Myanmar army of genocidal intent and ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar denies almost all the accusations, saying its forces engaged in a counter-insurgency operation against terrorists.

Reuters

More For You

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'

Keir Starmer speaks with medical staff during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom Hospital in Epsom, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'


HUNDREDS of millions of pounds could be saved and patient waiting lists reduced as prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body overseeing the state-funded health system.

In a speech delivered in Hull, Starmer explained his decision to streamline the National Health Service's management structure: "I can't, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."

Keep ReadingShow less