A weeklong ban on NGOs involved in distributing aid to Rohingyas at Ukhia and Teknaf has been imposed by The Cox’s Bazar district administration to restore discipline in local business apparently affected by illegal relief trade.
A circular released on Monday states that the amount of food and non-food items being distributed by the NGO among the refugees is more than required. Further, all NGOs have been asked to halt their relief activities for one week from December 11 to December 17.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner (education and ICT) who signed the circular said, “However, the NGOs working under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will remain out of this ban. Many of these refugees sell the items at lower prices, affecting the local business”
He further said, “We have decided to stop the aid activities for one week for the NGOs to bring back discipline in the local market. But those working under UNHCR will continue their activities.”
over 6,20,000 Rohingyas escaped to Bangladesh after a military crackdown by the Myanmar Army on August 25. On September of this year, the United Nations denounced Myanmar’s “brutal security operation” against Rohingyas in Rakhine State as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.