The use of mobile phone and internet is so common in most of our lives that we may be left in a fix if these technological boons were to be someday snatched from us all of a sudden. In a development that comes close to this, Bangladesh's telecommunications regulatory body has reportedly asked operators to shut down cellphone services in sprawling camps in the southeast where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live. They have cited a security threat and illegal use of phones.??
File Photo. Reuters
Zakir Hossain Khan, a spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission was quoted as saying by news agency Associated Press (AP) that they have asked the operators to respond to the order within seven days.
"The decision has been taken for national security reasons," he said. "We have been stunned to see that Rohingya refugees are using mobile phones illegally and we don't have a clear understanding of the situation".
In recent months, more than 40 Rohingya have been killed amid concerns that some refugees are involved in smuggling illegal drugs from Myanmar. Last month, a ruling party member was killed in the area and police blamed Rohingya for the murder. At least four Rohingya have been killed in recent weeks in what police described as shootouts between suspected Rohingya criminals and law enforcers.
Until cellphone services are halted, operators have been asked to suspend data and internet service between 5 pm and 5 am every day in the camps in Cox's Bazar district, meaning that only basic phone calls can be made. In addition, they have been asked to ensure that signals from Bangladesh mobile operators cannot be received in Myanmar.
The officials say it was clear that the law is being broken because no one is allowed to obtain a cellphone SIM card without a national identity card or passport, which most refugees don't have.
File Photo. AFP
A Bangladeshi can register a maximum of 15 mobile connections. "We have asked the operators to inform us how the Rohingya got the SIM cards," he said.
The decision has sparked concern among the refugees as they are unsure of what is yet to follow in their lives.?
File Photo. Agencies
"I have my family there. If I do not have a mobile phone, how can I stay connected?" said Mohammed Rashid, a refugee who fled to Bangladesh two years ago. "This is not a good decision for us. I hope the government will reconsider." Other refugees said they obtained SIM cards from Bangladeshi citizens who registered phones in their own names and then sold them to the refugees. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled a harsh security crackdown in Myanmar two years ago and are staying in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, UN rights experts voiced alarm at the Myanmar military's incommunicado detention of Rakhine men and boys, as well as allegations of torture and deaths in custody.
File Photo. Agencies
They voiced grave concern at reports that numerous ethnic Rakhine men and boys had recently been taken into custody and held incommunicado for weeks at a time over terrorism allegations, with many reporting they were tortured while detained, reported AFP.?
"The practice of incommunicado detention must be immediately brought to an end," the three experts, who are independent and do not speak for the world body, said in a statement.
"There must be a credible independent investigation into the allegations of torture and inhuman treatment, deaths in custody, and reliance on forced confessions in cases involving Arakan army-related allegations," they said.
File Photo. Reuters
The conflict-scarred Rakhine state, the site of a deadly crackdown that in 2017 drove some 740,000 minority Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh, has in recent months seen fierce battles between the military and the Arakan army, a rebel group claiming to fight for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
The UN experts pointed to the case of Naing Aung Htun, who was rounded up with others in Kyaukyan village in Buthidaung on August 8, and who was held incommunicado until August 21.
He was allegedly given electric shocks by soldiers until he confessed to having ties to the Arakan army. His father, who was finally permitted to visit him on August 22, reported he had sustained injuries to his face and complained of pain in his back, chest and head.
UN experts said they were particularly concerned about cases of incommunicado detention in light of reports "regarding at least 15 deaths in custody of men alleged to be associates of the Arakan army." The signatories also included Agnes Callamard, expert on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, and Nils Melzer, expert on torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
They called on the military to make the results of its ongoing investigation into those deaths public, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
File Photo. Reuters
They also urged a probe into an allegation that Naing Aung Htun was tortured, and said he should receive a fair trial, stressing that any confession made as a result of torture should be excluded from evidence against him.?
(With inputs from agencies)