Ensure punishment for Rohingya passport fraud

While many Bangladeshi citizens have a hard time getting a passport, it is deplorable that these passports are being issued so easly to non-Bangladeshis.

However, this is exactly what is happening in Bangladesh.
A gang has been formed to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh get passports, according to a number of Prothom Alo reports. The gang includes local public representatives, passport office staff, police officers and agents.
And yet a genuine Bangladeshi citizen has to go through so many formalities just to get a passport. He has to submit loads of documents including his birth certificate, national identity card and so on to the authorities. A special branch of police then verifies the documents and the relevant details.
On the other hand, Rohingyas are receving Bangladeshi passports easily. This is indeed a matter of concern.
Expatriate welfare minister Nurul Islam said, more than 200,000 Rohingyas have already gone abroad with Bangladeshi passports. Most of them went to various Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Many of those Rohingyas are getting involved in various criminal acts and actual Bangladeshis are getting into trouble.
The Bangladesh government issued machine readable passports (MRP) a few years ago in response to international requirements.
The fraud practice, however, has not stopped completely. At least, the Rohingyas getting Bangladeshi passports proves that.
These incidents came to light through media reports about Rohingyas being arrested while making passports or crossing international borders. Those who are not caught, are leaving the country as Bangladeshis.
Five Rohingyas youths were held at the immigration police lounge in Darshana of Chuadanga while going to India on 6 July, according to a Prothom Alo report. None of them are Bangladeshi citizens.
The director general of the passport directorate also admitted, “Rohingya people are providing false information and receiving passports regularly. This is not going to stop.”
And the Rohingyas are getting help from local people to make passports.
The number of Rohingya refugees registered in Ukhia and Teknaf camps of Cox’s Bazar is now about 1.1 million. The government has made a database with their names, photopgraphs and fingerprints.
It is, however, a mystery why this database has not been linked as yet with the main server of the passport office.
Around 700,000 Rohingyas fled and took shelter in Bangladesh due to violent attacks by Myanmar military and border security force last year.
A section of these refugees are trying to merge with the mainstream in Bangladesh. The same happened in the case of the Rohingyas who came earlier.
What is the solution to this crisis?
Firstly, the government can restrict the movement of Rohingyas outside the refugee camps so that they don’t get the chance to seek Bangladeshi citizenship in any way.
Secondly, taking legal action against those local government representatives, passport officers and police officers involved in providing passports to Rohingyas. Sparing criminals just sets a precedent for others.
Thirdly, Rohingya refugees must be provided biometric identity cards as the government had decided earlier. Thus no refugee will be able to make a passport as a Bangladeshi citizen.
Hopefully the authorities will understand this. Better late than never.