DHAKA, Bangladesh; 12 Jan 2019; AA: Ignoring concerns of Bangladeshi authorities and Rohingya refugees and in flagrant violation of international law, Myanmar has been constructing a concrete structure in the no-man’s land on its border with Bangladesh’s Ghumdhum area, media reported.
The structure will obstruct the flow of canal Tambru Khal in the area, causing threat of flooding and over 5,000 Rohingya refugees -- who have been living in the makeshifts since August 2017 -- are at the risk of washing out.
Rohingya leader Dil Mohammad told Anadolu Agency that it is the new tactic of the Myanmar army to oust the Rohingya living there.
“We are living here with the hope that situation will calm down and we will get back our citizenship rights and return to our original birthplace, Rakhine,” Mohammad said.
Since the beginning, he said, Myanmar armies have been trying to create panic among them so that they left the place.
Kamal Ahmed, deputy commissioner of Bangladesh’s Cox's Bazar, has sent a letter to the cabinet secretary on Tuesday, expressing concern over the construction work and its possible consequences, according to local newspaper the Daily Star.
“The Myanmar government cannot set up any structure on the no-man's land. If the structure is built, the Rohingya in no-man's land will face sufferings as the whole area will go under water,” Ahmed told the daily on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Monzurul Hasan Khan, commanding officer of Bangladeshi Border Guard’s 34 Battalion, told Anadolu Agency that he has personally visited the spot recently and Myanmar army has informed him about setting up barb-wire fences and not concrete structure.
“This type of barb-wire fences are also set up on other border lines between Bangladesh and Myanmar,” Khan said, adding that he is not aware of construction of any concrete structure.
“We have just come to know about such a structure through media, let us check the matter,” he added.
Prof. Mahfuzur Rahman Akand of Rajshahi University told Anadolu Agency it is “very unfortunate that Myanmar is trying to vitiate the life of Rohingya refugees even outside [the country].”
“No country can carry out any construction work in no-man's land without a bilateral agreement between the concerned countries,” Akand added.
