Junior interior
minister Kiren Rijiju told parliament last week the central government had
directed state authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants including
Rohingya.
The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued identity cards to about
16,500 Rohingya in India that it says help them "prevent harassment,
arbitrary arrests, detention and deportation". But Rijiju, a high-profile minister
in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu
nationalist government, said in an interview on the weekend that the UNHCR
registration was irrelevant. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/people/narendra-modi/17737.html
"They are doing
it, we can't stop them from registering. But we are not signatory to the accord
on refugees," he said. "As far as we are concerned they are all
illegal immigrants They have no basis to live here. Anybody who is illegal
migrant will be deported."
The UNHCR's India
office said on Monday the principle of non-refoulement - or not sending back refugees
to a place where they face danger - was considered part of customary
international law and binding on all states whether they have signed the
Refugee Convention or not.
The office said it
had not received any official word about a plan to deport Rohingya refugees,
and had not got any reports deportations were taking place. The treatment of
the roughly one million Rohingya in Myanmar has emerged as its most contentious
human rights issue as it makes a transition from decades of harsh military rule.
The Rohingya are
denied citizenship in Myanmar and classified as illegal immigrants, despite
claiming roots there that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and
occasionally subjected to communal violence. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya
have fled from Myanmar, with many taking refuge in Bangladesh, and some then
crossing a porous border into Hindu-majority India. Many have also headed to
Southeast Asia, often on rickety boats run by people-smuggling gangs.
'PROCEDURE'
Rohingya are
generally vilified in India and over the past few months, there has been a
string of anti-Rohingya protests. Rijiju declined to comment on the deportation
process, even as some human rights activists question the practicality of
rounding up and expelling thousands of people scattered across the country.
"There's a procedure, there is a rule of law," Rijiju said.
"We can't throw
them out just like that. We can't dump them in the Bay of Bengal." India
said on Friday it was in talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar about the
deportation plan. But deportation is likely to be difficult, given Myanmar's
position that all Rohingya need to be scrutinized before they can be allowed
back in as citizens.
Myanmar officials
were not immediately available for comment. A senior government official in
Bangladesh, which has complained of being burdened by the heavy flow of
refugees, has said India was helping it solve the crisis. More than 75,000
Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Oct. 9 after an insurgent group attacked
Myanmar border police posts, prompting a security crackdown in which troops
have been accused of murder and rape of Rohingya civilians.
Also Read:
'No tri-nation
talks' over Rohingya issue: India: http://www.thedailystar.net/country/no-tri-nation-talks-over-rohingya-issue-india-1448461
Who are Rohingya
Muslims and why govt wants to deport 40,000 of them? http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rohingy-muslim-india-myanmar-deportation/1/1023213.html
Fate of 40,000
Rohingyas from Myanmar to be sealed soon http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rohingya-myanmar-refugees-bangladesh-deportation/1/925828.html