Rohingya refugee crisis intensified as Indian officials reportedly ejected scores of Rohingya migrants from a navy ship into the sea close to Myanmar last week, according to the refugees’ relatives and attorney.
At least 40 Rohingya refugees were seized in New Delhi and thrown into the water by the Indian navy close to the maritime border with Myanmar, according to a statement released Thursday by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. According to the organization, the migrants, who included women, children, and elderly individuals, swam ashore, but it is still unclear where they are in Myanmar.
Five Rohingya refugees told the Associated Press on Friday that members of their families were among those who were taken into custody by Indian police on May 6. On May 8, Indian naval officials reportedly flew the group—which included 15 Christians—in an airplane before throwing them into the sea.
According to Dilawar Hussain, one of the refugees’ attorneys, the families have petitioned India’s highest court to return them to New Delhi.
The foreign ministry and navy of India chose not to comment.
The rights office said Thursday that it has hired a U.N. expert to look into what it described as “unconscionable, unacceptable acts.” “Inhumane and life-threatening treatment of Rohingya refugees, including their repatriation into perilous conditions in Myanmar,” the U.N. agency asked the Indian government to desist from.
The episode was described as “blatant disregard for the lives and safety of those who require international protection” and “nothing short of outrageous” by Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar.
Regarding refugees, India has neither a national policy nor a legislation. Additionally, neither the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol are ratified by it. However, after facing persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where authorities have been charged with genocide, hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees have left the country.
At least 22,500 of the estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees in India are officially registered with the UNHCR, according to Refugees International. In certain Indian states, a large number of people reside in filthy camps.
An email requesting comment from Thet Swe, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s military-led administration, was not immediately answered.
According to the refugee in India, the majority of individuals who were repatriated had registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in India, and Indian police had held them while claiming to be gathering their biometric information. He also sent the AP photos of his brother taken in a police car when he was being held by Indian officials.
Rohingya Refugee Crisis Sparks Global Outrage After India’s Actions
Another phone conversation that a refugee made to his brother in New Delhi was also recorded and examined by AP. It is heard that the caller said that Indian navy officials had assaulted some members of the group.
Hindu nationalist organizations in India have persecuted and attacked Rohingya refugees in recent years and have called for their removal from the country. Many of them are considered illegal immigrants and have also been detained in various detention facilities around India. Some have been sent to Myanmar and Bangladesh, which are nearby.
The contentious citizenship rule that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration put into effect last year has drawn criticism for discriminating against Muslim migrants, especially Rohingyas.
This article was written by Associated Press journalists David Rising in Bangkok, Rajesh Roy in New Delhi, and Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India.
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