Azhar Vadi – Cii News, Pic: A Rohingya man poses at an unauthorized camp in Bangladesh.—AP Photo

August 2, 2012

A Muslim majority country, Bangladesh, has turned its back once again on Rohingya Muslims who have fled a world of oppression across the border in Myanamar (Burma).

Three international charities have been ordered to stop providing aid to Rohingya refugees crossing the border from Myanmar where they have fled persecution and violence.

According to AFP, a local administrator Joynul Bari said on Thursday that France’s Doctors without Borders (MSF), Action Against Hunger (ACF) and Britain’s Muslim Aid UK have been told to suspend their services in the Cox’s Bazaar district bordering Myanmar.

The MSF Johannesburg in written statement confirmed that they have  received a letter from the Bangladeshi authorities, “requesting us to stop our activities in MSF’s project in Cox’s Bazaar district. However, as we are currently discussing this matter with the Bangladeshi authorities we are refraining from further comment on this issue.”

“The charities have been providing aid to tens of thousands of undocumented Rohingya refugees illegally. We asked them to stop all their projects in Cox’s Bazaar following directive from the NGO Affairs Bureau,” Bari confirmed to AFP news agency.

The plight of the Rohingya, who number about 1 million people, has gained international recognition in the wake of recent sectarian violence that left at least 80 people killed.

The Muslim community is unwanted in the majority Bhuddist Burmese state.

The charities that have been told to stop operations were providing healthcare, training, emergency food and drinking water to the refugees living in Cox’s Bazaar since the early 1990s, according to Aljazeera.

MSF runs a clinic near one of the Rohingya camp which provides services to 100,000 people.

At least 300,000 Rohingya Muslims are living in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

New York-based Human Rights Watch have lambasted the Myanmar security forces of shooting Rohingya Muslims, raping women and allowing armed gangs to attack each other.