Bangladeshi authorities have banned Burmese Rohingyas who want to attend the Muslim Bishwa Ijtema festival in Bangladesh from entering the country using border trade passes for security reasons, said Kadir Hossain a trader from Teknaf.
Bishwa Ijtema started in 1946 and is the third largest annual gathering of Muslims. It is held on the bank of the Turag River in Tongi just north of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. This year it started on 8 January.
Mohammed Abul Hossaind a government official at the Bangladeshi port of Teknaf said that more than 200- Rohingyas who had landed at Teknaf port with border trade passes were not allowed to go to Dhaka and were sent back to Maungdaw in Arakan State on 5 January.
He said that the relevant Bangladeshi authorities had previously told the Burmese immigration department in Maungdaw, Arakan State that Rohingyas would not be allowed to attend the Bishwa Ijtema this year due to security reasons.
Border guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials also said that they have tightened security in the area of the Bangladesh-Burma border.
On 6 January 80 more Rohingyas landed at Teknaf with border trade passes. They were also forbidden from travelling to the Bishwa Ijtema and sent back to Burma, but businessmen and people travelling for medical treatment were still being allowed to cross the border according to a source in Teknaf.
A Rohongya from Arakan who was interviewed by the Kaladan Press said: “I am very eager to participate in the Bishwa Ijtema this year but I can’t.”
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
