Days before Bangladesh’s February 12 elections, a warning about potential Rohingya involvement in criminal and political activities has been issued, ruling out the Election Commission’s suggestion to seal refugee camps during the polls. The vast size and infrastructure limitations of the camps make it impractical to isolate them during the election process, as reported by Dhaka Tribune.
Thousands of Rohingyas currently live in makeshift shelters in Cox’s Bazar town, situated about 100 km south of Chittagong in southeastern Bangladesh. These refugees fled Myanmar in 2017 following a military crackdown in Rakhine state, bordering Bangladesh. As the numbers in Cox’s Bazar camps increase, some refugees have also moved into neighboring states like India.
Earlier in the month, Bangladesh’s Election Commissioner proposed sealing the Rohingya camps and tightening border controls to prevent refugee involvement in the polls. Concerns were raised that the refugees could be manipulated to influence voting outcomes or disrupt the electoral process by vested interests, according to the newspaper website.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a National Task Force meeting on January 8, where it was agreed that Rohingyas should not be exploited for malicious purposes during the election. While the idea of sealing the camps was discussed, the consensus leaned towards placing the camps under a “security blanket” rather than a complete lockdown, the article mentioned.
Border surveillance was highlighted during the meeting, with officials emphasizing the risk of infiltration from Myanmar during the election period. An intelligence agency’s assessment submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 22 stated that sealing the camps would be “unrealistic” due to the camps’ size and inadequate infrastructure to support such a measure.
