5:11 pm - Thursday March 27, 2121

Government bans Rohingya marriages

The governemnt has banned the registration of marriages involving Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar, who are accused of seeking to gain citizenship through marriage.

On Thursday, the Bangladeshi government issued an executive order to marriage registrars demanding that no unions should be registered between Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas and also between Rohingyas themselves.

ROHINGYALaw Minister Syed Anisul Haque elaborated on the directive, saying that Rohingyas, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled religious persecution in Myanmar, are seeking to abuse wedding certificates to gain Bangladeshi passports and other documents.

According to previous laws in Bangladesh, Rohingyas who marry Bangladeshis could automatically qualify for citizenship.

“By registering their marriage in Bangladesh, they try to prove that they’re Bangladeshi citizens,” Haque claimed. “We’ve told the marriage registers not to list any marriage of Rohingyas and also between a Rohingya and a Bangladeshi citizen in Bangladesh.”

Haque failed to explain, however, why the government in Dhaka has banned marriages between the Rohingyas themselves.

There are around 300,000 Rohingyas living in Bangladesh after fleeing violence against them by Buddhist extremists since the 1990s.

Rights groups and charities have criticized Dhaka’s treatment of the Rohingyas. They say the Rohingyas lack basic healthcare and many are on the verge of starvation.

Violence by extremist Buddhists against Rohingya Muslims has killed hundreds of them and forced many more to flee Myanmar. The UN recognizes the Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as one of the world’s most persecuted communities.

The Myanmar government has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslims. International bodies and human rights organizations accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violence.

Courtesy: Press TV


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