The Report asserts that in India, Rohingyas are facing a renewed isolation and disregard that is amplified with hate speeches against them alongside unsubstantiated claims by the Union of India that Rohingyas are a threat to national security. These factors have contributed to a general scepticism and a trust deficit against the Rohingyas within the common population in India. The most significant dent on the protection of the Rohingya community in India came on 08 April, 2021, when the Supreme Court of India passed an Order in the case of Mohammad Salimullah and Another v Union of India and Ors. 2021 SCC OnLine SC 296 refusing the interim stay on the detention of Rohingyas in Jammu and allowing their deportation, subject to the process as established by law. This order escalated the detentions of Rohingyas across India in various “detention centres”.

This report aims to document and analyse the procedures that were followed (and not followed) while detaining the Rohingyas across the country with a special emphasis on the Shehzada Bagh detention centre in New Delhi. It asserts that the Rohingyas were not served any notice prior to being detained and neither were they given an opportunity to present their cases before any Court of law. It is particularly observed that the detained Rohingyas’ claim for refugee status was not assessed before their detention orders were processed, which violates the procedure established with the 2019 Standard Operating Procedure circulated by the Union of India.

Rohingyas have complained of unhygienic food that provides limited nutrition and inadequate medical facilities. These concerns have been intensified following the incident in 2024, when a young woman named Hamida, aged 19, died of unknown reasons. She was most probably one of those trafficked women who entered India as a minor and instead of being protected, she was punished with indefinite detention without sufficient care which caused her death.

The primary objective of the report is to document and analyse the series of arbitrary detentions of Rohingya refugees and their indefinite confinement across India, particularly at the Shehzada Bagh detention centre, in the northwest suburb of New Delhi. The report also studies the living standards of the Shahzada Bagh and other detention centres. On the basis of these readings, the report asserts that the indefinite and arbitrary detention of Rohingyas in India, in an ad hoc, uneven, ‘pick and choose’ pattern is in violation of national and international legal standards including the Foreigner’s Act, 1946, The Passports Act, 1929, the Constitution of India and various international human rights law instruments that India is a party to.

The research analysis in this report is based on the primary data and notes collected by the authors from various group discussions and interviews of Rohingyas who are either detained at various detention centres, relatives of detained Rohingyas or are former detainees at the detention centres. Certain names have been changed to protect identity. The secondary sources for this publication include official documents circulated and published by the Union of India, documents submitted to various Courts by the Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). The research also relies on various Court orders passed in the various High Courts of India and the Supreme Court of India. Additional information has been extracted from the various ground reports, policy briefs and other media reports that have been published regarding arbitrary detentions and the living conditions of Rohingya people at the various detention centres in India.

However, as per the report, the most common grievance against the detention centre was the horrible food, lack of hygiene, healthcare and dignity within the premises. The Rohingyas who were earlier detained inside the detention centre complained of abusive officials who treated them with indignity and there was no grievance redressal mechanism to address this.

As per the research conducted in the report, in every single Rohingya inside the detention centre complains of long-term medical complications, weakness, UTIs, and various other problems that remain undetected. A case in point is that one of the detainees, Ms. Shadiya Akhtar, (whose sister had approached the Delhi High Court on her behalf), who was hospitalised after the Orders of the Court and subsequently she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C. It was not until the Orders of the Supreme Court of India, Shadiya Akhtar was provided complete treatment for Hepatitis C. She was later cured of the Hepatitis. Similarly, in case of another Rohingya detainee at Shehzada Bagh, orders had to be obtained from the High Court of Delhi for the delivery of her baby in 2023 December. These interventions in the Courts contributed to the well-being and protection of young and vulnerable women detainees, yet in regular instances, minors like late Hamida (until 2023) lack necessary life-saving treatments contributing to either their deaths or loss of healthy lives. Discussion around the health situation in the detention centre remains of utmost importance, especially because the facilities house several children and their environment is found to be inconsistent with the requirements of developing a healthy childhood.

The findings in the report are worrisome because they are in contradiction with the set standards and procedures established by the 2019 model detention guidelines, the prison manual and the Constitution of India and standards prescribed by the Courts in India. Needless to mention, the rights violations of the Rohingyas in India are also in utter disregard of its international legal obligations and standing within the international community. The country is a party to various international human rights law instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Child Rights Convention (CRC). India is also a signatory to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants.

Indefinite detention of Rohingyas in New Delhi

The indefinite detention and confinement of the Rohingyas is a particularly important subject that requires attention. In general, there is no pattern in which Rohingyas are being picked up and detained in various detention centres across India. In Delhi particularly, these detentions have occurred on a “pick and choose” basis and without granting any chance to the Rohingyas to either present their cases or exercise their rights within the existing and set laws of India and the Constitution of India. In this report, the authors shall attempt to outline the facts and available data regarding the detention of Rohingyas in New Delhi, and across India and then analyse the arbitrariness of these detentions under the premise of the existing legal structures and obligations of India. The findings in the report conclude with stating that the treatment of Rohingyas in the detention centres is not just arbitrary and illegal but also Rohingyas are being subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment that amount to torture. In conclusion, it is recommended that the procedures established by law are followed by the authorities in India while detaining the Rohingyas as well as in the treatment accorded to them generally across the country.

Issue in Context:

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group who have lived for centuries in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. Despite living in Myanmar for many generations, the Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982, making them the world’s largest stateless population. Several Rohingyas remain in indefinite captivity and detention without fair trial within Myanmar. There are several reports and videos of women being brutalised, raped and pushed into sexual slavery while men have been tortured and cruelly slaughtered in bloody conflict in Myanmar. Children were impaled on steel rods and thrown into fires, adults were shot and villages were burnt by the Myanmar’s military. Rohingyas in Myanmar continue to face severe violence, particularly sexual and gender-based violence by the military, police and civilian mobs. Approximately 9,000 Rohingyas were brutally killed between 2016 and 2017.

Following the armed conflict and genocide, several Rohingya groups fled to various countries including Bangladesh and India. According to the Indian Home Ministry and Reuters, an estimated 40,000 Rohingyas sought asylum in India. In January 2019, UNHCR India acknowledged the presence of 18,000 Rohingyas who are registered as refugees. However, their rights as asylum seekers and refugees remain diminished due to the absence of a clear refugee policy in India amongst other factors. The refugee camp in Madanpur Khadar in New Delhi houses approximately 50 families. The settlements do not have any ceilings, there are no doors, toilets, and sanitation or hygiene standards. The Rohingya community in general is a community that has been historically deprived of all social resources and benefit

Conclusion:

However, the SoP establishes that when deportation is not possible, it is up to the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate a third country resettlement for the detainees. But in the present practice, several years pass before the MHA even initiates the conversation on the resettlement of these detainees to any other countries. The findings suggest that the infection of Hepatitis C is strikingly high amongst the Rohingya women detainees. The unfortunate death of Hamida Begum, a young adult who was actually a minor at the time of detention remained inconsequential, and could not change the way things worked in the detention centres.

The report stressed that it is a matter of immediate urgency that the provisions of the Foreigner’s Act, 1946, the Standard Operating Procedures and the Constitution of India be followed ad verbatim in the treatment of the Rohingya detainees across detention centres. Not only should their refugee status determination procedures be timely completed, further steps for their stay, deportation, third-country resettlement or other appropriate mechanism be utilised. For the context at hand, it is also pertinent that the complete medical history of the detainees be carefully assessed and accordingly caregiving must be arranged in consultation with organisations from the social sector who may want to work with the authorities to provide medical services, vocational training, mental health support and various other services inside the detention centre as well as in the refugee camps.

The full report can be found here:

Related:

Rohingya migrants are ‘threat’ to national security: BJP

Rohingya Human Rights Initiative: A silver lining in the cloud of the Rohingya crisis

Cut in WFP funding threatens Rohingyas with hunger, deprivation: Bangladesh

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Repatriating the Rohingya without ensuring their safety would be a crime unto itself

The clock is ticking for the UN Security Council to deliver justice for Rohingya refugees like us.

It has been more than a year since the Myanmar military launched its ethnic cleansing campaign that forced us and 700,000 other Rohingya to flee our homes and the country we love for Bangladesh.

Just over a month ago, a UN report finally recommended that the hell which Myanmar’s military leaders inflicted on us and our loved ones was nothing short of genocide. Yet, for those of us still living in refugee camps in Bangladesh, justice still seems far from sight.
For obvious reasons, the Myanmar government opposes any form of international criminal justice. And we all know their own domestic commission of inquiry is a sham that will never deliver the justice we deserve — it is, quite simply, like asking a criminal to decide on his own fate.

For those of us living in refugee camps, our best hope is, therefore, for the International Criminal Court to be allowed to do the job it was set up to do. However, in order for the ICC to investigate all the crimes committed against the Rohingya and other Burmese people, the UN Security Council must first decide to take action.

But, so far, its permanent members have remained dangerously silent on whether in the face of genocide, they are prepared to stand up.

On one side we have China, which has deep economic ties to the Myanmar regime, and which is likely to block any ICC referral. And Russia indicated in September that it will do “whatever is necessary to enable the members of the council to avoid repeating the unsuccessful experiment of referring Security Council issues to the ICC.”

And on the other side we have the UK, which has been a constant advocate for the Rohingya people — but now is the time for this advocacy to translate into action, including referring the situation to the ICC and encouraging others to do the same. Sweden and the Netherlands are two non-permanent members of the Security Council which have already called for this to happen, and many others are likely waiting in the wings. 

Referring Myanmar to the ICC is the most direct way for world leaders to show that they stand on the side of justice. And it would demonstrate that the world has not forgotten the million Rohingya that languish in the world’s largest refugee camp.

It is important to take other steps too — including sanctioning the brutal regime and supporting the new investigative mechanism established by the Human Rights Council — but it is the threat of being hauled in front of judges in The Hague that truly worries the military leaders in Burma.

Instead, by letting economic interests trump justice, the Security Council is allowing impunity for some of the worst crimes the world has ever seen. 

Myanmar’s military leaders remain in power. Without any repercussions for their actions, they will continue to terrorize the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

This is justice not just for the Rohingya only, but also for the Kachin, Shan, and all of the other ethnic groups who continue to suffer discrimination under Myanmar’s oppressive military. As the head of the UN’s own fact-finding mission said just last week, genocide has not stopped in Myanmar. And to do this, people continue to flee to Bangladesh.

That is why, until justice is finally delivered, we cannot go home.

Repatriation at this stage would constitute refoulement. It is simply not yet safe and we will still lack any form of security from those we have sought security from. To this day, we know from our family still in Rakhine state that Myanmar has not changed any of the policies towards the Rohingya, and we need to see these changes before we can even consider going back

This hasty deal did not include any guarantees that it would be conducted in a voluntary manner, and rumours of whose names are on “the list” are running rampant here in the camps. People who have heard they are on the list have already gone into hiding, too fearful even to show up to distributions to collect the food rations they desperately need.

Despite assurances from UN’s refugee agency and Bangladesh, our people remain unconvinced. They are traumatized, lack information, and still remember what happened the last time people were sent back in the 1990s. In order to go home, we need our fundamental rights and citizenship restored, and the recognition of our ethnic name. We appeal to Bangladesh to not force us back without such assurances. And the perpetrators must be sent to the ICC. But for now, the root causes of conflict are far from resolved. 

The mandate of the UN Security Council is to work toward a more peaceful world. If the Security Council cannot even take action on the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and one of the clearest examples of genocide, then how can they claim to be fulfilling their mandate? The clock is ticking to deliver justice for the Rohingya people. 

Saiful, Rawshit, Jonal, Zahay, Mohammad R, and Mohammad J are a group of Rohingya youth and community leaders who fled Myanmar after August 2017 and are now living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune

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Image Courtesy: UNHCR/Paula Bronstein

The presence in Bangladesh of more than 1million Rohingya has raised security concerns in the region and put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She is also worried about the prospect of the sprawling camps at Cox’s Bazar near the Myanmar border becoming permanent settlements.

Bangladesh government has begun the process of repatriating Rohingya refugees who fled across the border from their homes in Myanmar during last year’s military crackdown. Refugees, Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner Abul Kalam told the AP on Wednesday that 30 refugee families would be handed over Thursday at the Ghumdhum border point near Cox’s Bazar, where refugees have been living in crammed camps.

According to the AP news story, Mr. Abul Kalam claimed that they discussed the situation with the U.N.’s refugee agency, which gave a report after discussion with the refugees who are on the list. Details of the repot were not shared, but Kalam said they were “hopeful” of beginning the repatriation on Thursday. Kalam said that about 2,260 refugees from 485 families would be sent back in an initial group. Myanmar officials said recently that they would receive 150 refugees each day.

I have learnt from my contacts and Rohingya refugees based in Cox’s Bazaar that since November 14, Bangladesh army has surrounded Once Prank Refugee camp and Unchiprang refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar. They have forcefully taken some Rohingya refugee families to the transit camp. I have learnt that the list approved by Myanmar for repatriation include a number of Rohingya refugee families who are located in Jamtoli, Balukhali and Chakmarkul refugee camp. To escape repatriation more than a 100 heads of families have run away from the camp and are now hiding elsewhere hoping that the their families will not be repatriated in their absence. Bangladesh army and para-military forces have moved into the camps to prevent the heads of families from going into hiding. There are reports that ‘Majhis’, Bangladesh army appointed Rohingya community leaders, have been beaten up by army and security personnel for non-cooperation. It seems that some Hindu Rohingya families have already been taken to the transit camp by Bangladesh authorities. Rohingya refugees have said that they will not go back without rights, justice and UN security.

About 10 days ago, in the Once Prank Refugee camp Dil Mohammad, a 57 year old Rohingya refugee drank poison saying it was better to die than be forced to go back to Myanmar. Fortunately, he survived. On October 14, a Rohingya beef seller, Ziaul Hassan was brutally attacked in the Rakhine village of Nga Ching Pauk under Kyauktaw Township. He received serious cuts on his head. There is news from inside Rakhine state that last week Buddhist mobs were holding protest rallies against resettling Rohingya returnees in Rathidaung and southern Maungdaw region, which the Buddhist Rakhine have taken over since the forced expulsion of the Rohingya last year.

The UN fact-finding mission to Myanmar recently told the UN Security Council that the genocide in Rakhine is “ongoing”. Last week there were demonstrations by Rakhine nationalists against the return of the Rohingya. On November 13, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Tuesday urged Bangladesh to halt the plans, warning of further grave violations against the Muslim minority. She has further said, “We are witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar who are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will.” Non-governmental aid groups have also voiced concerns that the refugees would be sent home against their will, or moved permanently into camps. “The Rohingya have told us that they do eventually want to return to their homes and communities in Myanmar, but they want guarantees that they can enjoy equal rights and citizenship, and they want those responsible for the violence to be brought to justice,” said Evan Schuurman, a Melbourne-based official for Save the Children, the charity.

The presence in Bangladesh of more than 1million Rohingya has raised security concerns in the region and put pressure on the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She is also worried about the prospect of the sprawling camps at Cox’s Bazar near the Myanmar border becoming permanent settlements.

While the international community is against repatriation of the Rohingyas to Myanmar without equal citizenship rights and without assurance from Myanmar government for their safety and security, China, the most powerful nation in the region is opposes seeing the conflict internationalized. In the UN Security Council, it is opposing the push to prosecute Myanmar’s military and police officials responsible for the violence. Myanmar and Bangladesh, under pressure from China and other regional powers, signed a bilateral agreement on repatriation in November 2017.

India, the largest country in South Asia is also supporting Myanmar. India has declared all the 40,000 Rohingya refugees living in India as ‘illegal immigrant’ and has threatened to expel them. Indian government claims that the Rohingya Muslims are a potential threat to its national security as these people were vulnerable to the influence of Pakistan’s ISI and other Islamic jihadi groups. In September 2018, India expelled 7 Rohingya refugees and handed them over to Myanmar authorities. Though the Indian government had told the Indian Supreme Court that Myanmar had agreed to accept these persons as its citizens, Myanmar government has given them National Verification Certificate, which identify them as foreigners. They are now confined in concentration camp like situation in their village in Rakhine.
 
Myanmar’s government has said it would give returnees temporary accommodation in border camps and supply them with food, before allowing them to return to their homes. If their homes are no longer standing, they will be provided with newly built accommodation or be housed in the Hla Phoe Khaung transit camp near the border.

Nay San Lwin, a coordinator for the Free Rohingya Coalition said “If the Bangladesh government forces them, the Rohingyas will go into hiding. The repatriation will not happen voluntarily because nobody wants to go back.” He pointed out that there was no guarantee that the Rohingyas won’t be persecuted again, and there was no assurance for their citizenship, for their safety.

“The whole talk of repatriation is the Myanmar government’s way of distracting the world from mass atrocities committed by the army,” said Matthew Smith, founder and chief executive of Fortify Rights, a human rights group. “The reality is that there have been no tangible improvements for Rohingya rights in Myanmar.”
 

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Ali posing iwth his kids at his school at Batla House
 

“This is both our house and office since we have a very limited budget. This is possible through the contributions of the people who understand our plight,” says Sabir, who heads the organisation. “On one side of the house, I live with my wife and kids and on the other side, I run the office.”

RHRI documents the atrocities currently faced by the Rohingya Muslims from the Arakan region of Myanmar and disseminates the information around the world asking the global community for help and support.

Sabir hails from the town of Buthidaung, which means ‘the hill where gourd is grown.’ Talking about his experiences, Sabir says, “I left Burma in 2003. Before that let me tell you that the violence in Burma started way back in 1942. After that, we saw much genocide between 1942 and 2012. We have had genocides at least 21 times in the past 75 years.”

For the past few years, the RHRI has been trying to share some basic information regarding atrocities committed to Rohingya people with the world outside so that the international community could do something to help Burmese refugees with a political solution. But there hardly seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

On October 4, India deported seven Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. They had been living in Assam. Since 2012, this was the first time when an official decision was taken by the Indian government to deport the refugees back to their country.  Even the Supreme Court ruled against their stay saying they are living in India as illegal immigrants, thus giving a green light to their deportation. Even as this piece is being written, preparations are still afoot to deport 23 more Rohingyas from Assam back to Myanmar as being considered by the Home Ministry for two weeks. When TwoCircles.net spoke to RHRI convener Sabir about the latest developments he feared for their lives.

“Since 1942, our learned youths, scholars, politicians and businessmen have been targeted by the Burmese authorities. The army there could arrest or kill anyone on their whims. In 1978, over 3,00,000 refugees in Bangladesh were provided shelter by the United Nations Organization. We still have two camps from that settlement there accommodate roughly 20,000 refugees there.”

Sabir recounts the arduous journey from Burma to India as a refugee. “I had to pay a good sum of money to border patrol at Burmese-Bangladeshi border. But that wasn’t enough. Even the Bangladeshi soldiers asked us for money and we paid. Then we entered India through Kolkata after bribing BSF personnel.”

Sabir came to India with his sister who lives with him in the same house. “I went to Mumbai in search of jobs. I worked as a waiter in restaurants and help in hotels and guest houses and also a travel agent,” he smiles.

Sabir also worked as an interpreter for foreign tourists. “Initially I worked as a freelance interpreter for Burmese tourists. But soon I started working with UNHCR as an interpreter for Rohingya refugees when international media began covering us by the beginning of 2010.”

It was Sabir’s exposure as an interpreter that gave him enough confidence to start an initiative which would help Rohingya refugees. “I worked in the UNHCR before leaving to join the Rohingya Youth Union India as its director. My job was to reach out to people and administration to secure any kind of help possible for Rohingya. But the scope was limited there. I wanted to reach out to the world as I had always wanted. As a result, in 2017, the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative was established to achieve larger goals in the interest of Rohingya refugees.”
 

Sabir holding a calender showing famous Rakhine sites
 

“Our prime goal is to be able to tell the world of the atrocities committed by the Myanmar government in order to wipe our community off. For this, we have organised seminars and conferences to represent the voice of the Rohingya community. We have also tied up with other human rights organisations like Salaam from Hyderabad.”

“At RHRI, we have chalked out a roadmap to protect our culture and identities by letting the world know who we are. We have been living there for centuries. People do not even know that Arakan was a separate kingdom. We had our separate rule, flags, currency and emblem among other things distinguishing us from the rest of Burma. But gradually our culture was destroyed by Myanmar rulers by the mid-twentieth century. We have been suffering since that time. This is what we want the world to know through this platform.

“Through RHRI, we also confront the allegations of ‘terrorism’ and other misconceptions and disinformation propaganda against us by sharing with the world and the international media as much updates as possible to make them aware of the real situation at hand since media persons are not allowed to go there where people are still being mercilessly killed. So our goal here is to publish reports on all such developments and keep the international community informed. Apart from that, we aim to have ties with the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) and other legal bodies to ensure the safe release of the Rohingya youths under detention in India,” Sabir elaborates on the role of his organisation.

On the walls of his office, there is a poster of Aung San Suu Kyi quoting her with the words, “Please use your liberty to promote ours.” Below that there is another quote by Rohingyas asking Suu Kyi to do her bit with the following words, “Now use your liberty to promote ours.”
 “Earlier we supported Aug sang Suu Kyi in 2010 democratic elections hoping that she would finally speak on our behalf and take up our matter with the United Nations. But after she came to power she turns her back on us. We still hope that she raises our concerns on international platform someday but that hope is diminishing now.”

Every time Sabir mentions the loss of Rohingya legacy in Myanmar, he points towards an informative calendar hanging in the office which has pictures of places, people and a dying script of their language. He passionately points out at each picture and briefs about them.

“When people ask who the Rohingyas are, I feel like showing them these places,” he says while pointing at the picture of an ancient mosque. “Look how rich and vibrant our culture was which they are determined to leave no trace of. We have always had a great potential for tourism. Look at these places. Our elders had worked hard to contribute to the growth of Arakan region,” he points at a picture of Maungdaw Beach, Saing Din waterfall, an ancient tunnel and paddy fields situated in Arakan.

Sabir also hints at discriminatory behaviour he received from the local police while trying to run his organisation. “They would enter my house and abuse me. They would call me to the police station often and apart from asking the usual questions, they would take the usual jibe at me. But as our work and my recognition progressed, their treatment has been less harsh towards us,” he says.

His visiting book index has the name of several international journalists. Sabir is a known face among many national and international media organisations now. He along with his friend Ali has built the reputation of an organisation dedicated to the Rohingya cause and thus earned trust and support of eminent lawyers like Colin Gonsalvez and Prashant Bhushan. “Colin Sir has always been our pillar strength through our darkest times, besides aiding us on legal matters. If it hadn’t been for people like him, we would have given up already,” Sabir says with a smile.
Ali works with Sabir at the RHRI and looks after communication with the mainstream media on all issues regarding Rohingya crisis. His family hails from Maungdaw and Buthidaung.

“I was a high school student in Bangladesh when violence broke out in 2012 in Myanmar. I used to ride an e-rickshaw there. One day, some of the passengers started talking about the news of violence in Myanmar. Then the influx of refugees into Bangladesh increased so I came to Delhi to pursue higher studies and get away from the effects of violence,” Ali recollects.

Even when he came to Delhi, Ali ran a hostel near Zakir Nagar for poor Rohingya children. He also ran a makeshift school for them in the Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi but had to close the school due to a scarcity of funds.

“Those children need someone who promises them a future of their own. The crisis can be solved by providing education to the refugee kids here. My dream is to ensure scholarships for 250 Rohingya kids so that they can afford school at a primary level. We have been able to collect some funds for that by crowdsourcing, which helps us to get the kids’ school dresses and stationary but at the end of the day, those funds are not enough. If the international community genuinely wants to help us, they can do so by funding 250 kids for school. I don’t think it will cost them a lot,” says Ali.

Like Sabir, Ali is also optimistic about a political solution in the long run but feels that the international community is not doing enough to ensure a safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“The solution has to be a political one. We have been demanding foreign countries to cut their trade ties with my country’s government so that at least the latter feels some international pressure and stop the genocide of Rohingyas.”
 

Poster of Aang San Suu Kyi
 

Despite the disappointments, both Sabir and Ali maintain that they keep finding rays of hope, for instance, the announcements by a few countries to cut off their ties with the Myanmar military as bold steps to force Myanmar to respectfully take back Rohingyas in the country. In September 2017, the UK suspended aid for Myanmar military and Maldives severed its ties with Myanmar. In October of the same year, EU announced severing its ties with Myanmar. In June 2018, Amnesty International urged the Australian government to cut off all trade relations with Myanmar military and to take steps towards trying 13 military generals of Myanmar at International Criminal Court for the alleged genocide of Rohingya people.

“Sometimes, little developments in the direction of our goals matter the most to us. I see these developments in this way,” Sabir concludes with a hopeful grin on his face.

Courtesy: Two Circles

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‘A global problem requires a global solution’

President M Abdul Hamid urged on Thursday the international community to increase the pressure on Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingya refugees being sheltered by Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar.

Addressing the 20th Homeland and Global Security Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, the Bangladesh president described the crisis as a “test case” for any future international cooperation on peace and security, reports BSS.

“The case of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar may be considered an acid test for the global community on collectively dealing with an international problem,” the president said.

“A global problem requires a global solution. I urge all members of the international community to arrive at a durable solution and stop the process of impunity by identifying the persons responsible for the acts of violence (in Myanmar).” 

President Hamid was addressing the opening session of the Homeland and Global Security Forum, which was held on the sidelines of the World Investment Forum 2018 in the Grand Hotel Kempinski. 

He said Bangladesh has been doing all it can to provide food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, childcare, and – above all – a sense of security to the displaced Rohingyas.

“We all are appalled by what we have seen in the UN reports on the horrifying atrocities committed against them (Rohingyas), which are tantamount to genocide and crimes against humanity,” he said. 

The president said third party countries often took sides in regional conflicts around the world, instead of putting pressure to end them. 

He stressed the need for “concerted and collective efforts” among all countries, to face down new security threats such as cyberattacks and to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change-induced disasters.

He said: “Peace has now become more than just absence of war, and the traditional definition of security has changed forever. Now, we also have powerful non-state actors who influence international politics to make matters worse.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution has presented us with unparalleled prospects in development, but at the same time, humanity is also facing probably the greatest dangers and existential threats in its known history.

“The rise of nationalist identity based politics set by different countries, along with lack of trust, is directly impacting the activities of different multilateral organisations and their peace-building efforts. Both at the global and regional levels, an absence of trust and lack of collaboration are on the rise.

“The rise of terrorism and extremism, along with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and transnational crimes, are pushing humanity to the edge.”

Noting that the world will have to feed more than nine billion people by 2050, Abdul Hamid said malnutrition and hunger are still ruling many parts of the world. 

Other speakers at the Homeland and Global Security Forum in Geneva included Armenian President Armen Sarkissian, Montenegro President Filip Vujanovic, and Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane. 

Jean-Paul Carteron, the honorary chairman and founder of Crans Montana Forum, served as chair.

First Publihsed on Dhaka Tribune

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A demonstration over identity cards at a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh in April, 2018. Image: NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images.

In 2016, Nural, as a leader in a Rohingya village in Rathedaung, was called to a meeting by a high-ranking officer from the Myanmar Border Guard Police. There, Nural and the gathered village leaders were told all Rohingya must now accept identity cards, known as nationality verification cards (NVCs), or they would “no longer be allowed to remain in the country” and be “driven out”. Despite the risk of speaking out, Nural raised his voice in the meeting, “These NVC cards make us into foreigners who are supposed to apply for citizenship. We are already citizens of this country.” In his frustration and anger, he pounded his fist on the table three times. Four armed officers pointed their guns at his head, escorted him out of the room and handcuffed him to a chair. Fortunately, he was not among the 30 men who were arrested in the village that day. He was not the man who was shot dead while running away from the guards that came searching for his father-in-law. He was not the man who was sentenced to seven years in prison, or the one who was blinded in one eye by police beatings. His village escaped being burnt that day – only to be razed a year later.
 

“These cards make us into foreigners… We are already citizens of this country.”

Nural is only educated to primary level, but he knows well the history of his people. He knows his Rohingya forefathers have resided in the north Rakhine region centuries before the Burmese generals in power now, who are Johnny-come-latelies by comparison. He knows that his parents and grandparents carried the same citizenship cards and had the same rights as all other citizens of independent Myanmar. And that Rohingyas’ proof of citizenship and belonging has been systematically removed over the past thirty-five years through the confiscation, destruction, nullification, and targeted non-issuance of documents, all carried out by multiple civilian and military agencies under a single command. He is sure that NVCs are just the latest in a long-line of ID cards that attempt to recategorise Rohingya as foreigners, attack their group identity and remove their rights.

In all Rohingya communities, village chairmen and yar ein hmu (leaders of 100 households) like Nural were ordered to accept the cards. They were told if they did not, they would be dismissed from their positions and punished under the law. Some held out – others could not. Nural tells me with pride that his was one of eight villages in Rathedaung that stood united against the NVCs. He, himself, held out. He was just one of many Rohingya who resisted the destruction of their identity as a group indigenous to the Rakhine region by refusing the cards. 

Now, after having fled across the border into Bangladesh, Rohingya are facing a new chapter in their struggle against identity cards. But this time threat is coming from an unexpected source – the United Nations refugee agency – who have proposed a form of documentation which Rohingya claim is almost identical to the cards imposed by the Myanmar state.
 

Nationality verification and genocide

Between 2016 and 2017, villages were subjected to night-time “security” raids which villagers say were linked to the NVC cards. One man described with tears of anger and sadness that his older brother died after being bitten by a snake while hiding in the forest one night. As the men hid, they left behind women and girls who were repeatedly subjected to sexual violence at the hands of the security forces. “I cannot even speak of what happened to our women, while we hid.” he said.Across ten focus groups and multiple in-depth interviews, I have been told that without the NVCs, school children were not allowed to sit for final examinations, fishermen could no longer fish, cattle traders could no longer go to market, businessmen could no longer pass through checkpoints, parents could no longer register the births of their children, prisoners could not be released at the end of their sentences, sick people could not go to the hospital, and retirees could no longer draw their salaries. It became barely possible to eke out a living, support a family or survive. The attempted enforcement of identity cards was, and still is, aiding, what the Indian philosopher Amartya Sen has described as, a “slow genocide” in Myanmar. But still communities hold out. Rohingya accounts of the enforced issuance of NVCs are full of heroism, tragedy, unity, pride and occasionally shame, where they could no longer endure.
 

The attempted enforcement of identity cards was, and still is, aiding the “slow genocide” in Myanmar. 

In focus groups, I have often heard NVCs refered to as “genocide cards” by Rohingyas. Following the outbreak of violence in August 2017, the vast majority of Rohingya fled their homelands; many were killed or driven out of the country by terror, their homes burned, and their lands stolen by the state. A nationality verification process, originally (and sometimes still) promoted by international agencies as “a pathway to citizenship” for “stateless” Rohingya, has compounded the physical, symbolic and cultural destruction of a group.

Unsurprisingly, the 800,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh’s refugee camps are insistent that among their conditions of return to Myanmar is the end of NVCs or NVC-like procedures.¹ They are demanding an end to being labelled “Bengalis”, “foreigners” or “stateless.” They want their citizenship to be recognised and to be called by their own name, Rohingya, as an indigenous group of Myanmar. It is not simply a matter of access to citizenship rights. It is also a matter of safety, security and survival.
 

Resistance to UNHCR’s “smart cards” in Bangladesh refugee camps

Displaced Rohingya are also uniting in their resistance to another kind of ID card – the “smart cards” being issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Despite a deep and tangible yearning to return home, they are resisting premature or forced repatriations by refusing to accept UNHCR-issued biometric “smart cards”. These cards are being issued following the memorandum of understanding between the UNHCR, the United Nations Development Programme and the Myanmar government relating to repatriations to Myanmar. Although the UNHCR and the Bangladesh government claim the cards will not lead to immediate repatriation, Rohingya are understandably wary. The UNHCR are in a predicament. Without issuing cards, they struggle to “be operational.” But Rohingya are resolute in their rejection – operations or not.

A demonstration during a UN Security visit at a Rohingya camp on 29 April, 2018. Image: NurPhoto/SIPA USA/PA Images

On a visit to a refugee camp in Bangladesh to ask people about citizenship in Myanmar, not smart cards, it soon becomes apparent that the two are linked. The small crowd that gathers around me as I sit in a small open-air shelter steadily grows as the conversation moves on to smart cards. “Please do something about the smart cards, please”, one young refugee begs of me.

Reports have been circulating for several months among the camp population that there may be shadowy organisations offering 500 Bangladeshi Taka to each family willing to break ranks and take the cards, or that beatings by security officers taking place outside the UNHCR office are doled out for those that refuse. There’s buzzing concern and a subdued sense of confusion and betrayal that a group of residents in another camp have reportedly accepted UNHCR’s smart cards. In almost all of my conversations with refugees over the past two months, the issue of “smart cards” has come up as a major concern related to safety and security on return to their homelands in Myanmar.

So, what’s wrong with the cards? Firstly, Rohingya are asking that they be recognised on the cards as “refugees”, a term the Bangladesh government is reluctant to entertain fearing it will contribute to the protracted nature of the Rohingya refugee issue in Bangladesh. For Rohingya, whose family and oral histories are ingrained with accounts of repatriations at gunpoint over the past 40 years and the confiscation, destruction and nullification of the documents that prove their citizenship on return, the term “refugee” offers some degree of international protection. It also offers proof that they crossed from their home in Myanmar. Myanmar has labelled past returnees “Bengalis” and the UNHCR, who has presided over the monitoring of returnees in the past, has been powerless to prevent further abuses.
 

Refugees are insisting that the UN refugee agency cards carry the term “Rohingya”.

Secondly, refugees are insisting that the UNHCR cards carry the term “Rohingya”, running contrary to the agency’s practice of not stating ethnic identities on ID cards, lest it result in discrimination. Rohingya demands for recording their identity as a group indigenous to the Rakhine region of Myanmar, relate not to international practices but to practices within Myanmar in which the only variety of citizenship worth having is one based on the membership of an ethnic group considered by the state to be pre-colonial or indigenous – one recorded on all documents. Since these refugees have been targeted for no other reason than their membership of a group, Rohingya understand that the public acknowledgement of their ethnic identity by the Myanmar state is absolutely essential in halting and preventing the ultimate crime against a group, genocide.

Thirdly, and most significantly, Rohingya repeatedly state that “the smart card is the same as the NVC card”. They have an important point here – smart cards may well not be so different from NVCs in terms of outcomes. All biometric and biographical information handed over to the UNHCR will be shared with the Myanmar government in the event of repatriations, and this can then be used, to produce the identification cards issued by the Myanmar state. But much more importantly, as one bright young refugee explains, jabbing aggressively with his finger at clause 15 of the leaked MOU between UNHCR, UNDP and Myanmar on repatriations, the agreement states after Myanmar has carried out the “necessary verifications” they will issue “appropriate identification papers” and provide a “pathway to citizenship to those eligible”.  In short, the ID cards issued on return, using the data from the UNHCR smart cards, will either be NVC cards or something very similar, that require Rohingya to have their nationality verified by a government that has systematically removed evidence of their citizenship and evidence of Rohingya existence, as part of a 40-year genocidal process. If returnees are lucky, or perhaps unlucky, they may be provided with a citizenship document that labels and stigmatises them as “Bengali” – but certainly not “Rohingya”, not indigenous and not entitled to the same rights as other citizens.
 

The poisoned chalice of “pathways to citizenship”  

What is even more problematic for Rohingya is that the UNHCR along with other international agencies have since the 1990s promoted “pathways to citizenship” as the way to resolve what they have historically understood to be Rohingya’s de jure statelessness. The “temporary registration cards” or “white cards” issued to Rohingya from 1995 onwards, during the UNHCR’s time in the Rakhine state, gave material form to the international rhetoric that Rohingya were “stateless”. One high profile camp-based Rohingya activist claimed, “when UNHCR told us to accept these white cards in Myanmar, they effectively labelled us as stateless.” Since they had citizenship before the 1982 citizenship law, under the law, they should still be entitled to it.
 

Rohingya across five countries find the label “stateless” hurtful and harmful. 

Rohingya across five countries, have consistently told me how hurtful and harmful they find the label “stateless” as, for many, it suggests that they have never been recognised as citizens. “Pathways to citizenship” is generally a way for international agencies to mediate between a neglectful state and undocumented people. It is perhaps less appropriate in a situation of genocide with the wilful denial of the rights and the existence an indigenous people.

“The good news”, I tell the young guy angrily prodding a copy of the MOU, “is the UN Fact Finding Mission report is the first UN report that does not call you de jure stateless, but de facto stateless. Just like any other refugee in the world. They recommend the reinstatement of your full citizenship.” His smile flickers, but he doesn’t appear reassured.

We can only but hope that the change in discourse brought by the FFM report, which also describes the Rohingya persecution as “genocide”, will help to finally bury the idea of NVC cards as part of a solution for Rohingya. In the refugee camps, it is hard to miss the simmering anger and indelible mistrust of the UNHCR for its inability to ensure voluntariness, safety and rights during two previous rounds of forced repatriations in 1978-9 and 1993-4; and for its lack of refugee consultation and transparency in negotiating the conditions of potential Rohingya returns this year. Promoting smart cards for genocide survivors, as though ID cards can provide a neutral record of external facts about human beings, just isn’t going to wash this time. As one Rohingya political leader told me, “it is impossible for the UNHCR to ensure repatriations if they cannot even issue the smart cards on a voluntary basis.” It’s time to stop talking about “pathways” – treacherous as they have been for Rohingya – and to start listening to Rohingyas’ own understandings and interpretations of how the genocide has played out, including how they feel about the “genocide cards” and “smart cards”. Rohingyas know the significance of these cards, more than anyone else, UN included. The survivors voice must carry the greatest weight.

*Names have been changed to protect interviewees.

Natalie Brinham is a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London researching statelessness. She has worked for many years in NGOs in the UK and Southeast Asia on forced migration, trafficking and statelessness in both frontline service provision roles and research and advocacy roles. She holds an MA from UCL Institute of Education and a BA from SOAS.

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/

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New Delhi: The government of India as a part of a country-wide security exercise has asked all states to record biometrics details of Rohingyas and other illegal immigrants living in their jurisdiction, according to Home Ministry officials, reported PTI.
 
The move has been initiated purportedly to identify illegal immigrants wherever they go in the country.
 
Calling all Rohingya refugees in India “illegal immigrants”, the home minister had said on Thursday the state governments have been asked to observe their movements and obtain their personal details so they could be deported to Myanmar, the PTI report said.
 
Around 14,000 Rohingyas living in the country are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, while about 40,000 are said to be staying illegally, as reported. They are also known as the largest stateless population in the world.
 
It is unfortunate how our home minister forgot to differentiate between refugees and illegal immigrants. Are those who fled their country due to persecution at home and entered into our border to save their lives, and are duly registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, are illegal immigrants?
 
Since Rohingya refugees are mostly Muslims they have been the target of criticism in our country and are seen as evil-mongers involved in illegal activities.
 
Earlier in July, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said in Parliament that some Rohingya Muslim migrants in India have been found indulging in illegal activities and maintained that security forces have been deployed to stop their infiltration into the country.
 
In a communication dated September 26, Saturday, the Southern Railways received a ‘secret’ missive by the home minister that Rohingyas were travelling to southern states with their families. “A day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh said at a public speech in Kerala that Rohingyas have started entering Kerala, a communication from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) marked ‘secret’ claimed that a huge number of Rohingyas are coming to Kerala by train,” reported the News Minute.
 
“All Rohingyas are travelling in groups along with their families,” the note further added. “Officers and staff under your control may be sensitised about their movements. If they are found in trains they may be handed over to police having jurisdiction for further action. Action taken report may be sent to this office at the earliest for the perusal of Principal Chief Security Commissioner (PCSC),” the missive directed said the TNM report.
 
Bangladesh has been the worst hit by the influx of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state. After the brutal crackdown by Myanmar army on minorities in the country specially in Rakhine state where majority of Rohingya Muslims live, more than 700,000 people left Myanmar and crossed over to Bangladesh to save their life after losing everything there.
 
Though those refugees are living in cramped tent shelters with minimum facilities, Bangladesh has extended its support on humanitarian grounds. Bangladesh government has also been trying for their early repatriation to their country and is negotiating with the Myanmar government.
 
Refugees are bound to return to their home countries once the condition improves over there and they are assured of their safe return and smooth settlement.
 
“The official said capturing the biometrics details does not mean that they will be given any valid identification document. Documents such as Aadhaar can be issued only to those non-citizens, who visit India legally and are residents in India for minimum six months but the Rohingyas, being illegal migrants, do not qualify for it, the official said,” the PTI report said.
 
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday had also directed the government not to issue Aadhaar card to illegal immigrants. Calling all Rohingya in India “illegal immigrants”, the home minister had said Thursday the state governments have been asked to observe their movements and obtain their personal details so they could be deported to Myanmar,” the report said.
 
“Since August, when the Myanmar government began its brutal ethnic cleansing campaign, over 688,000 Rohingya Muslims have escaped over the border to Bangladesh. The refugees have gathered in camps in a border area known as Cox’s Bazar, where the sheer scale of the crisis threatens to overwhelm the local authorities. UNHCR and the Bangladeshi government register every refugee over the age of five, collecting fingerprints and photographs. Refugees are only able to receive aid after being enrolled in the database,” reported Wired.
 
“The Rohingya are fleeing violence and persecution on the basis of their identities. Now their most intimate information is being collected and stored in a database over which they have no control. Instead, the power lies with humanitarian agencies – and, worryingly, with the Bangladeshi government,” the report said.
 
What will this data be used for and if the consent of the minority was taken before collecting their personal details is not known. Just how Aadhaar details were bought for a sum online, what disaster could the information on the persecuted minority bring?

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Thousands of Rohingya are looking for the possibility to enter Bangladesh and escape from the atrocities carried out on them by the Myanmar military. 

Rohingya leaders of several camps in Cox’s Bazar say many Rohingyas have already entered Bangladesh by the Naf River. They say more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees are still waiting to flee Rakhine to avoid torture. 

They also claim that around 300 refugees have taken shelter in the border areas’ jungles.

The refugees, who recently entered Bangladesh, claim that the Myanmar army is still torturing Rohingyas in Rakhine Province. 

Some of the refugees claim that  those remaining in Rakhine have been made slaves—and are trying to flee to Bangladesh to avoid torture.

Teknaf Leda Rohingya camp Chairman Abdul Matlab said: “Rohingyas currently in Rakhine have actually been detained. The soldiers are not even allowing them to go to nearby market places. 

“As a result, they are facing food shortages. The Rohingyas are forced into living in a terrible situation, which is compelling them to flee to Bangladesh.”

Quoting the new refugees, Matlab further said: “The soldiers are torturing them in tactical ways, so there are no large signs of anarchy on the surface. If this goes on for long, every Rohingya will flee Rakhine and come to Bangladesh.”

According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 13,764 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh this year. 

Of them, 531 entered by the Naf River in September. The number was 256 in August and 413 in July. From May 20 to July 22, some 3,000 Rohingya entered Bangladesh.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) sources said most of these refugees entered the country via Teknaf’s Sabrang and its surrounding areas.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and law enforcement have adopted a zero-tolerance policy to prevent the influx. 

•    300 refugees have taken shelter in the jungles along the border areas
•    Rohingyas are inviting their relatives to join them in Bangladesh 
•    Around 13,764 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh this year
•    Over 700,000 Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh since August 2017

Earlier on August 13, BGB sent back a boat carrying 12 Rohingyas. BGB sources said they also sent back a boat carrying seven Rohingyas on September 21.  

However, locals claimed that 12 Rohingyas entered the country. They arrived in two boats.

BGB Teknaf 2 Deputy Commander Major Shariful Islam Jummadar said: “Rohingyas are still trying to enter the country. BGB patrols have been strengthened at the borders to prevent their entry.”

Khadijatul Kobra, 26, who fled to Bangladesh last week from Buthidaung, said: “Myanmar soldiers beat up the Rohingya women and treat their husbands as slaves. 

“During the day, the men are used as housemaids and at night, they are used as guards for the army men. I could not bear the torture and ran away with my family.”

Abul Hayer, who sold his daughter’s gold earrings for Tk5,000 to come to Bangladesh, said: “I fled my house. I met two other families when I reached the border. Twelve of us entered [Bangladesh] together at the Unchiprang border.”

He further said: “There were 800 houses in my village but now there are only 500 houses.”

However, Teknaf Municipality acting chairman Abdullah Monir said: “The influx has increased as the Rohingyas are contacting their relatives in Myanmar, informing them about their wellbeing here, and asking them to come to Bangladesh.”

Echoing this, Teknaf upazila UNO Md Rabiul Hasan said: “No new Rohingya will be allowed to enter Bangladesh. There is strict surveillance on the border. If someone tries to intrude, he will be sent back.”

Since August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingyas, many of whom are children, have crossed into Bangladesh and taken shelter in the makeshift refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

First published on Dhaka Tribune
 

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Last time this year, many were hiding in the jungles across the border, fleeing a military crackdown
 

Photo credit: Dhaka Tribune/Reuters

Thousands of Rohingya refugees in the camps of Cox’s Bazar spent their first Eid away from homes on Wednesday.

The day was spent in prayer and remembrance of loved ones lost. This time last year, they were fleeing the violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine, running to Bangladesh for a safe haven. Many have lost someone, some have lost all. They came carrying what little they could, and some brought nothing but the shirts on their backs.

Eid-ul-Azha therefore, was a day of memories for the refugees. After the Eid prayers in the morning across the many mosques in the camps, most people broke into tears. Everyone prayed for safe return to their homes in Rakhine and lives of dignity.

Very few refugees received sacrificial meat, a key part of the Eid-ul-Azha observations.

Ayub Ali Majhi of Balukhali camp in Ukhiya said: “After the Eid prayers today, not just the imams, everyone broke into tears. We have lost so many people in Rakhine, parents, siblings, spouses.At least for their sake, something needs to be done.

“It has been almost a year since we came here. No international agency has been able to do anything towards our repatriation.”

Battali Rohingya Camp’s Majhi (leader) Mohammad Idris said: “One person donated a small cow for sacrifice for two of the majhis. We got about 80kg of meat from it and distributed it among the 400 families in this camp.”

Mohammad Ismail, another majhi from the camp, said: “Last year we could not pray on Eid-ul-Azha. We were in the jungles in the hills of Rakhine. We did not get any sacrificial meat, but I am glad that I at least got to pray.”

Mohammad Lalu from Balukhali Camp said despite the persecution they faced in Rakhine, they still felt love for their homeland.

“We want to return safely. That is what we prayed for today. This confinement has become suffocating. We cannot take our children anywhere. There is no entertainment,” he said.

Khaleda Begum, from Madhurchhara camp, broke into tears recalling her flight from Rakhine.

“I lost my father during the flight. This is my first Eid without him, and so far away from home. Why is Allah so unfair to us?”

Abu Taher, a young man from Kutupalong camp, said: “We got some meat from Qurbani, but people in Camp 1 C block got nothing. No NGO or agency distributed meat there.”

It was a rainy morning on Wednesday and the Rohingya Muslims attended their Eid prayers in the cramped, small mosques and then sacrificed the few animals that had been donated for them.

Ukhiya Camp In-Charge Md Rezaul Karim said: “The organizations working in the camps were supposed to donate sacrificial animals in sufficient numbers. We were hoping that each family will get at least 2kg of meat. But the organizations could not make it in time.”
Ukhiya UNO Nikaruzzaman Chowdhury said the number of sacrificial animals was inadequate for the number of refugees.

“We tried our best to provide, but the various organizations working here failed to follow through,” he added.

Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Md Kamal Hossain said: “We distributed meat among the refugees as much as possible. The district administration provided some and the NGOs working here provided more. But it was not sufficient.”
 

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The UN has not made the terms of the agreement public. It didn’t reportedly hold any consultation with the representative organisations before signing the agreement. On June 27, during a presentation at the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Yanghee Lee, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said, “I note the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed between the Myanmar Government, UNHCR and UNDP in early June to assist the process of repatriation from Bangladesh. It is disconcerting that the MoU remains not publicly available and there has not been transparency about its terms.” There is no provision in the agreement that would oblige Myanmar government to ensure security and dignity of the Rohingyas after they return to Myanmar. There is nothing in the agreement about accountability for the horrific crimes committed against them by Myanmar’s generals and other members of the armed forces.

This is not the first time that the international community has decided to “betray” the Rohingyas. The “Slow Burning Genocide” of the Rohingyas has been going on for decades. But the West that controls the UN was not really concerned. Yes, there was a steady outflow of refugees. But this was limited within the region of South and South East Asia. Unlike the hundreds of thousands of Syrian, Iraqi and Libyan refugees, the Rohingyas were not swarming across the borders of the European countries. Europe was not threatened by the Rohingya influx.

The West had imposed “sanctions” on Myanmar. It was for the lofty ideals of “democracy”. It did not demand an end to the systematic ill-treatment of the Rohingyas and other minority communities of Myanmar. There can be no democracy without all citizens being able to participate equally in the governance of the country. This is the foundation of liberal democracy which the West boasts of having established. Yet, no Western leader had thought of including the restoration of equal rights to citizenship for all people of Myanmar in the agenda for negotiations for lifting the sanctions.

President Macron of France accused Myanmar government of committing genocide against the Rohingyas. Yet, France’s business community, including its oil and gas giant TOTAL, continues to do business in Myanmar. The EU talked about imposing sanctions, but the truth is that even today, there are about 300 EU investors with the combined portfolio of more than USD 6 billion in Myanmar, some in collaboration with private partners and others with various government departments. These companies are working in diverse areas including health care, energy, construction, automotive industries and digital innovation. Two military conglomerates and cronies of the generals have total control over Myanmar’s business interests even after the so-called “democratic reforms”. As we know, these generals are mainly responsible for spreading anti-Muslim hatred and whipping up mass hysteria among the Buddhist majority in the country.

The Myanmar Times on June 28 reported that the “EU is exercising more caution when making investment decisions involving Myanmar. This is due to recent instability at the country’s borders, including the ongoing refugee problems in Rakhine.” Nevertheless, Myanmar remains an important trade partner to the EU, and the latter’s interest to expand into the country remains robust.

The EuroCham-Myanmar, which is funded by the European Union, was formally launched in Yangon in December 2014, when Myanmar army was busy killing Rohingya men, raping their women and putting them in concentration camps. EuroCham-Myanmar promotes the business interests of European companies in Myanmar. Switzerland, Sweden and Norway are equally involved. While the Swiss are selling passenger aircrafts, Sweden’s Volvo is selling cars and commercial vehicles and Germany’s Mercedes Benz and BMW are providing luxury vehicles to Myanmar’s generals and the rich. Norway’s Telenor owns the biggest telecom network in Myanmar. Thanks to the efforts of Norway’s ambassador, Telenor was able to beat the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean companies in securing the contract from Myanmar army. Statsoil, a Norwegian oil exploration giant, has a stake in the natural gas exploration off the coast of Rakhine. In fact, Norway’s gigantic Pension Fund had led the opening of the floodgate of investments in Myanmar after the so-called “democratic reforms”, which have since been proven to be a charade. 

There is also a host of American companies—about 130—doing business in Myanmar. The list includes Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Ford, Pepsi, KFC and others engaged in diverse areas like oil and gas, insurance and information technology. About two weeks before the Myanmar army began its massacre of Rohingyas in Rakhine, Aung Naing Oo, director general at the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration and secretary of Myanmar Investment Commission, said, “We are in active discussions with Amcham Myanmar [American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar] to facilitate trade and investment with the United States. We do hope the entry of US insurance companies in the near future, which will lead to millions of dollars surge in our list of FDI [foreign direct investment].” (The Nation, Bangkok, August 08, 2017)

Under the neo-liberal system, where promoting the private interests of the business community has become the primary responsibility of the governments, the lure of the “thirteen pieces of silver” will guide the policies of states. As long as the West continues to control the United Nations, with Russia and China aiding and abetting them, there is little chance that the United Nations will be able to live up to its charter.

In recent months, the human rights situation in Kachin and northern Shan States has worsened. Mass atrocity crimes continue to be reported. Over 120,000 Kachin and Shan civilians have been displaced since 2011. Thousands of people in Kachin State are trapped in conflict zones while access to humanitarian aid remains blocked in many conflict-affected areas. There is no mention in the UNHCR/UNDP/Myanmar agreement of the approximate 120,000 Rohingyas who are still languishing in concentration-camp-like situations inside Myanmar. Whatever may be said about the status of Rohingya refugees in refugee camps in Bangladesh, there is no doubt that they feel safe there. The question is how safe they will be once they are forced to go back under this agreement.

Tapan Bose is a writer and documentary filmmaker. He is a member of the Free Rohingya Coalition and is actively associated with the campaign “Protected return to protected homeland” for the Rohingya people.

First Published on https://www.thedailystar.net
 

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