Cox’sbazar: A committee formed by local Bangladeshis called the "Rohingya Resistance Committee" announced and submitted a list of demands to the Bangladesh government on 18 January, reports our Cox's Bazar correspondent.

The seven demands made by the committee are: 1) Register all Rohingya in Teknaf and Ukhiya Townships in Bangladesh, 2) Reoccupy all government land where Rohingya are currently living, 3) Do not recognize Rohingya that marry Bangladeshis as citizens, 4) Cancel all Rohingya names on the recent Bangladesh voter lists, 5) Collect names of Rohingya who are living illegally in Bangladesh and gather them in one solidified location, 6) Do not recognize [claims to] lands that were illegally purchased by Rohingya from local people, and 7) Do not allow the employment of Rohingya.

The demands were made by the committee at a rally held on 18 January, 2010, in Ukhiya, a border town located between the Teknaf and Cox's Bazar motor road.

Bangladeshis from Teknaf and Ukhiya formed the committee to pressure Rohingya to be repatriated to Burma.

The committee also submitted a memorandum to the Bangladesh Secretary of the Foreign Ministry on 28 December when the secretary visited Ukhiya town on the border.

According to a source, the memorandum contained four demands, including the prevention of Rohingya infiltration, the immediate repatriation of Rohingya, supervision over NGO activities in refugee camps, and exclusion of Rohingya people from the recent Bangladesh voter lists.

The president of the committee, Mozammel Huq, said in a meeting that registered and non-registered Rohingya numbering over 100,000 living in Ukhiya and Teknaf camps posed a threat to law and order in the district.

He also stated that because of the Rohingya, local people were losing jobs and commodity prices were rising at an abnormal rate. He added that Rohingya were creating social problems because they were getting involved in anti-social activities.

According to a source, the situation in the refugee camps has worsened after Bangladesh agreed with Burma to repatriate 9,000 Rohingya refugees to Burma. Many Rohingya have been fleeing from the camps and hiding out in the general population after news of the repatriation plans spread.

During the last 15 days, Bangladesh police and BDR personnel have arrested 400 Rohingya people from Cox's Bazar District. Some of them were forcibly repatriated to Burma and some were sent to jails, said a police source.

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