IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, Sep 27: Rohingyas living in India made a passionate appeal to the central government not to deport them back to Myanmar at a time when male members of their community are being killed and women raped there.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, some representatives of Rohingyas, under the banner of Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, said the true story of what is actually happening on the ground in Rakhine is not coming out as media has been barred from the region.
“There is always curfew all the time. The news about atrocities over Rohingya is not coming out as media is not able to reach those areas. Our people are being killed, women are being raped. Even 28 Hindus have also been killed. Whether against Rohingya Muslims or Hindus it is a crime against Humanity. We are worried. Homes of the Rohingya people have been torched,” said Mohd Shabbir, a young Rohingyan living in India for some years.
About 40,000 Rohingyas – some 14,000 of them have been accorded refugee status by the UN rights body here – are living in different states of the country for some years.
On the media reports about Rohingya Hindus being killed by Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, Shabbir said it is the propaganda of the Burmese government.
“Hindus have also migrated to Bangladesh along with Rohingya Muslims. The Burma government, under a plan, is spreading propaganda that Hindus were killed by Rohingya Muslims. We request to the media and international community to show the correct news.”
According to the United Nations, around four lakh Rohingyas – both Muslims and Hindus – have taken shelter in the neighboring Bangladesh since 25th August this year when the violence erupted in Rakhine state of Myanmar.
Shabbir urged the Indian government to put pressure on Myanmar and do advocacy at international level for restoration of normalcy in Rakhine and assurance of security and rights to Rohingyas, rather than planning to deport those Rohingyas living here.
“Media and government are talking about our deportation. We have come here to save our lives. Indian government knows it. The situation of Burma is worse. You cannot deport us there. Like Bangladesh, you can give us camps to live in. Indian government can do advocacy at international level with UN, other countries and international media. It can pressurize the Burma government to give security to Rohingyas so that they can go there,” he demanded.
“We have no citizenship in Myanmar. Rohingya community has no education right there since 1982. We cannot join government jobs. The Burma government compelled us to leave our homes,” he said.
While weeping Shabbir asked: “Why is this all not being told to the international community? We are being oppressed there for 70 years. Why is media not telling about this? We want peace. It is the responsibility of the international community and media to protect us.”
The issue of deportation of Rohingyas from India is pending in the Supreme Court. The central government has told the apex court that Rohingyas are threat to internal security and so they should be deported back to Myanmar. But, human rights activists and even the UN rights body have opposed the government’s move.
