Rohingya organisers seek new path to safety

The killing of Mohib Ullah has sent shockwaves to the camps in Cox’s Bazar, with the Rohingya organisers close to the refugee leader seeking safety from the authorities.

 “All of us, including my family, are now in grave danger,” said Abdur Rahim, a vice president of Mohib Ullah’s group Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights or ARSPHR.

Rahim, a nephew of Mohib Ullah, has been lying low since the murder of the ARSPHR chairman on Wednesday night. “ARSA is threatening us. We seek security from the Bangladesh government. We want them to relocate us or ensure our security by some other means,” Rahim said in halting English on Saturday afternoon.

Mohib Ullah, 48, was working at the ARSPHR head offices at the Lombashia camp in Ukhiya when he was gunned down. The ARSPHR advocates for justice for the Rohingya, who are persecuted in Myanmar and faced a brutal military crackdown in 2017, and the refugees’ repatriation to their homeland with citizenship rights.

For Mohib Ullah’s killing, his relatives and supporters have blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, or ARSA, an armed group. ARSA has denied the charges.

In the wake of Mohib Ullah’s death, ARSPHR is wracked with fear. Officials from two international NGOs working in Cox’s Bazar say they have been contacted by at least four members of the organisation seeking ‘asylum’.

A leader from a group named the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, or ARNO, has also sent a letter to several organisations seeking asylum. In the letter, the leader mentions they had worked alongside Mohib Ullah for safe repatriation to Myanmar.

Mohib Ullah’s office, from where he was running the Going Home Campaign. Photo: Golam MortujaMohib Ullah’s office, from where he was running the Going Home Campaign. Photo: Golam MortujaThey also note they were part of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) efforts to build a case against the Myanmar authorities over the persecution of the Rohingya. Since Mohib Ullah’s death, the leader says, they are overwhelmed by fear and urged the organisations to grant them asylum before they “fall victim to the same kind of attack”.

The letter says that the killers oppose relocation or repatriation efforts because they do not like human rights workers, even those who are respected among the Rohingya or those who work for their general benefit.

Jamalida, a women’s leader at Lombashia camp, said over the phone that she was also worried because she spoke in favour of repatriation alongside Mohib Ullah.

Human rights worker Noor Khan Liton has been working on the Rohingya crisis for some time and was close to Mohib Ullah.

Since the Rohingya leader's death, a wave of fear and tension has swept through the camp, he said.

Mohib Ullah had long spoken about the Rohingya’s rights to citizenship. He had asked the international community for help to create favourable conditions for their return to Myanmar. He had highlighted the issue of human rights and been vocal about receiving justice for the genocide committed against the Rohingya.

Now that he is gone, the Rohingya are terrified. Many are now seeking refuge elsewhere. Many have requested or applied for additional security or relocation.

Several of them worked alongside Mohib Ullah, said Noor Khan. They have approached the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and other agencies with pleas for refuge.

These people are nervous because Mohib Ullah’s activities weren’t just limited to the Rohingya camp, added Noor Khan.

He had involved himself in Myanmar’s democratic movement as well. He even convinced the opposition political alliance in Myanmar to recognise the Rohingya. He was also a prominent voice on the international stage and was working to return the Rohingya to their homeland. Mohib Ullah had formed committees on every block of the refugee camps and had seen to the wellbeing of the Rohingya on a daily basis. For these reasons, he incurred the wrath of certain parties – parties who would have the same ire for his supporters.

Mohib Ullah, a Rohingya Muslim leader from the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, speaks on a phone at his residence in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, April 21, 2018. ReutersMohib Ullah, a Rohingya Muslim leader from the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, speaks on a phone at his residence in Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, April 21, 2018. Reuters“We have received no such allegations of threats,” said Mohammad Naimul Haque, the superintendent of police and commander of the 14th Armed Police Battalion (APBn) stationed to provide security for the camps.

But security at the camp has been tightened, he said, and law enforcers have been told to stay on alert, reports bdnews24.com.

Naimul said they met with UNHCR security officials on Saturday. The officials had inspected the security at the camp and “expressed their satisfaction” with the measures in place to the APBn, he said.

AUDIO CAMPAIGN AND THREATS

Threatening audio clips circulating among the refugees created an atmosphere of fear. In one of the clips, someone threatens Mohib Ullah on behalf of ARSA.

The unidentified man says Mohib Ullah will die a “bloody death” if he does not listen to what ARSA chief Hafez Ataullah says. The nearly six-month-old clip also warns Mohib Ullah against executing a plan by Professor Wakar Uddin, director-general of Arakan Rohingya Union currently teaching at Pennsylvania State University in the US to form groups, each consisting of seven members.

Another clip vows revenge for the killing of refugee Gias Uddin in the camp, blaming Mohib Ullah for “masterminding the murder”. “Master Mohib Ullah’s death is nearing.”

Mohib Ullah was accused of colluding with the administration to frame his rivals on charges related to yaba smuggling or illegal arms.

 “ARSA tried to damage Mohib Ullah’s popularity by carrying out this disinformation campaign. You’ll know how he was if you talk to the people in the camp. They are still crying for him,” said Rohingya leader Abdur Rahim.

In an emailed response, Wakar Uddin said: “This is a great tragedy for the entire Rohingya community. Mr Mohib Ullah was professionally a school teacher and he has devoted his entire life to the betterment of the Rohingya people, particularly in education and social development issues. My advice and guidance to Mr Mohib Ullah was just based on that, and of course, the repatriation issue.”

 “He was a strong believer of finding a peaceful solution to the Rohingya issue that includes voluntary, safe, and dignified return of the refugees to the homeland of Arakan.”

The miscreants in the camps evidently opposed Mohib Ullah's ‘peaceful and noble’ efforts and repatriation, Wakar Uddin said, adding that the refugee camp is becoming their permanent base of operation and the return of the refugees to their homeland in Arakan means losing their base of operation.

 “These rapidly growing violent groups are poised to silence every strong, reasonable, and decent voice of Rohingya leaders like Mr Mohib Ullah's. This growing violence in the refugee camp and beyond in southern Bangladesh is another evidence of how important it is to repatriate the refugees. The longer it takes to repatriate, the worse it will get in the camp -- and the Myanmar military knows that, and so they will go on with their delay tactics.”