New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Days ahead of Bangladesh’s February 12 general elections, an intelligence input has warned the government of the potential use of Rohingyas in criminal and political activities, ruling out the possibility of implementing an Election Commission proposal to seal the refugee camps during the polls, according to a media report.
The agency believes it would not be feasible to implement the Bangladesh poll body’s recommendation to isolate the camps during the poll process, citing the camps’ vast size and infrastructural limitations, reported Dhaka Tribune on Saturday.
Incidentally, thousands of Rohingyas reside in makeshift shanties in Cox’s Bazar town, located in southeastern Bangladesh, about 100 km south of Chittagong. They fled Myanmar in 2017 after a military crackdown in Rakhine state, bordering Bangladesh. As the numbers swell in Cox’s Bazar camps, the refugees trickle into the adjoining states of India as well.
Earlier this month, said the newspaper website, Bangladesh Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah suggested sealing the Rohingya camps and tightening border controls to prevent any involvement of refugees during polls. The proposal, it added, was rooted in fears that the refugees may be manipulated by vested interests to influence voting outcomes or disrupt the electoral process.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a National Task Force meeting on January 8, which agreed that Rohingyas should not be exploited for malicious purposes during the election, said the article. While sealing the camps was discussed, consensus leaned toward placing the camps under a “security blanket” rather than a complete lockdown, it added.
Border surveillance was also emphasised, with officials noting the risk of infiltration from Myanmar during the election season. The report said, quoting the intelligence agency’s assessment submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 22, that sealing the camps would be “unrealistic”.
The huge area, housing hundreds of thousands of refugees, and their infrastructure — such as boundary walls and surveillance systems — is inadequate to support such a measure. It highlighted risks involving their use being mobilised for carrying out sabotage activities. It also pointed out the alleged illegal inclusion of Rohingyas in voter lists over time, raising the possibility of fraudulent voting attempts. Further, they might be drawn into rallies, canvassing, or other election-related activities, potentially violating electoral codes.
Despite these risks, the agency stressed that sealing the camps would not be feasible. Instead, it recommended a layered security approach. The newspaper report also shared that the intelligence agency has outlined a comprehensive plan that includes enhanced surveillance with repair and activation of damaged CCTV cameras and boundary walls in the camps, establishment of checkpoints on routes from camps to polling stations seven days before election day, and detention of Rohingyas found outside camps.
It also mentioned conducting raids to recover illegal weapons from the camps and surrounding areas, ensuring security units remain stationed in camps and not reassigned during the election period. It further urged formally cautioning political parties against involving Rohingyas in election activities, treating violations as serious breaches of conduct.
This report comes even as Bangladesh grapples with several poll-related allegations, including vote manipulation, concerns over the neutrality of security forces, and disputes between major political parties. Against this backdrop, the Rohingya issue adds another layer of complexity.
On-ground reports suggest that the Election Commission has registered over 127.7 million voters nationwide, but the inclusion of Rohingyas in voter lists — even if limited — has raised alarms. Political actors fear that even small-scale participation could be exploited to delegitimise results.
Meanwhile, the rising concern in Bangladesh over the trend of using religion in politics, especially during elections, was recently voiced in an article published in one of the country’s online Bengali news-portal Banglanews24.
“The reason for this is the absence of a democratic political environment in the country for a long time; the impact of religious fanaticism and the rise of radical political forces in the domestic, regional, and international arena has created this adverse situation in the country,” it observed.
It mentioned political promises of “attaining paradise” if endorsing a particular electoral symbol, while another claims support for the enforcement of Islamic laws.
The February general election was announced under an interim government following a political vacuum created after the Sheikh Hasina regime was toppled in a student-led protest in August 2024, sending her into exile, while her political party – the Awami League – remains banned from political activities.
–IANS
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