Article found at http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-39809620090522 (Reuters India; http://in.reuters.com) BANGLADESH REPORTS NEW INFLUX OF MYANMAR MUSLIMS Friday, 22 May 2009 By Nural Islam, Reuters COX`S BAZAR, Bangladesh -- Bangladesh stepped up vigilance at its border with Myanmar after a fresh influx of Rohingya Muslims was reported, officials said on Friday. Rohingya refugees have presented problems for several other countries in the region in recent months, with reports of Thailand putting those who come by boat back to sea, and others reaching Malaysia and Indonesia and trying to work illegally. Local residents and media said about 1,000 Rohingya Muslims entered Bangladesh in just the past three days, alleging increased persecution by Myanmar`s military junta. They forced us from our homes and threatened to treat us even worse if we go back, said Syed Alam, who crossed the Naf river on the border in a small boat with five family members. The eviction of Muslims in Rakhine state ... increased in recent weeks after the (Myanmar) military started clearing space to build an army garrison, he told reporters in Cox`s Bazar. Rakhine borders Bangladesh`s Cox`s Bazar district. Alam said about 120 families were evicted from his village, and more were being forced out. I chose to leave my country as a last resort. Bangladeshi officials said some of the Rohingyas stated they feared torture as they supported the democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi, now on trial for allegedly harbouring a U.S. citizen in her home while under house arrest. Bangladesh and Myanmar share a 320 km (200 mile) border, partly demarcated by the Naf, with frontier guards on both sides keeping an eye on illegal immigration. Yet the flow of Myanmar refugees has been unabated. Major Tanim Hossain, a Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guards officer, said the BDR had pushed back nearly 300 new entrant Rohingyas in the past few days. We have increased vigilance at the border to prevent the influx of Rohingyas, he said on Friday. Giasuddin Ahmed, the district administrator of Cox`s Bazar, said he felt the Rohingyas might be trying to use the recent turmoil in Myanmar over Suu Kyi`s trial as a pretext to leave. More than 21,000 Rohingyas have been living in two Cox`s Bazar caps, run by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, since early 1992, when some 250,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. They alleged persecution by the military in what was then Burma, but the UNHCR managed to send most of them back within a short time. The rest refused to return and the U.N. agency says they cannot force anyone to go back against their will. Cox`s Bazar officials say more then 200,000 Rohingyas live outside the camps, mixing with local Muslims who have an almost common language. Muslims are a minority in Myanmar, where most of the population is Buddhist. (Additional reporting by Azad Majumder)

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