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Arab News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Families wait for word of Rohingya said to have been abandoned at sea by India
NEW DELHI: It has been more than a week since Akbar, a Rohingya refugee in India, has heard his niece's voice, the longest they have not spoken to each other. She is among more than 40 Rohingya alleged by the United Nations, family and lawyers to have been forced off an Indian navy ship this month near the shores of war-torn Myanmar with only a life jacket. 'I got her out of the lion's mouth when we escaped Myanmar almost eight years ago. And now this has happened,' Akbar, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, said of his niece, who is around 20 years old. Myanmar's Ba Htoo forces — opposition fighters battling the junta that took power in a 2021 coup — say the group landed on May 9 on a beach in Launglon Township near southern Dawei city, a region that regularly witnesses gunbattles and air strikes. 'We are helping them as human beings and we will let them go where they want if it is safe,' a spokesman for the group said. The mostly Muslim Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar for decades, with many fleeing a 2017 military crackdown. More than a million escaped to Bangladesh, but others fled to India. There are around 22,500 Rohingya in India registered with the United Nations refugee agency, according to the advocacy group Refugees International. Two other Rohingya refugees told AFP their relatives were part of the group that was detained by Indian authorities. Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, has called the repatriation an 'unconscionable' act. Andrews said he was 'deeply concerned by what appears to be a blatant disregard for the lives and safety of those who require international protection.' New Delhi has not commented on the reports. Family members say the group was summoned by authorities in New Delhi on May 6, allegedly to collect biometric data. They were moved to a detention center and then to an airport outside the Indian capital. From there they were flown to India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, an archipelago that lies a few hundred kilometers southwest of Myanmar. Two days after being detained, the refugees called family members back in Delhi saying they had been dropped off in the seas off Myanmar. The Ba Htoo spokesman said one member of the group was a cancer patient, adding that the 'rest of them just feel tired from the long trip.' AFP could not independently verify the claims. Dilwar Hussain, a New Delhi-based lawyer representing refugees from the community, said they were 'concerned about the safety and well-being of these refugees.' A petition filed in India's Supreme Court by two refugees whose family members are among the 43 people allegedly deported said it was carried out illegally. India is not a signatory to the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention, which prohibits returning individuals to countries where they face harm. However, New Delhi rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves, who has challenged the group's detention and deportation, said India's 'constitutional laws cover protection' of the personal liberty and right to life of non-citizens. This case is not the first to be reported. Indian media reported this month that more than 100 Rohingya were 'pushed back' across the northeastern border into Bangladesh. India's Hindu nationalist government has often described undocumented immigrants as 'Muslim infiltrators,' accusing them of posing a security threat. Yap Lay Sheng, from the campaign group Fortify Rights, said the deportation of the Rohingya group was a 'targeted attack against anyone perceived to be Muslim outsiders.' Ramon, another relative of one of the deported group, said his brother told him he had been verbally abused. Speaking on condition of anonymity, Ramon said the group was 'accused of being involved' in the April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, in which gunmen killed 26 men. The attack sparked a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan. 'My brother asked me to leave India to avoid being in a situation like his,' said Ramon, who has been in India for more than a decade. Their mother has been inconsolable since receiving news of her son's deportation. Ramon struggles with sleepless nights over his brother's safety. 'They should have deported all of us and thrown us into the sea,' he said. 'We would have been at peace knowing we are together.'
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Indian navy forcing Rohingyas into sea 'outrageous', says UN expert while urging probe
A UN expert said on Thursday he was investigating "credible reports" that Rohingya refugees were forced off an Indian navy vessel into the Andaman Sea, in what would be an "unconscionable" act. "The idea that Rohingya refugees have been cast into the sea from naval vessels is nothing short of outrageous," said Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar. "I am seeking further information and testimony regarding these developments and implore the Indian government to provide a full accounting of what happened." Andrews, who is an independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the UN itself, said he was "deeply concerned by what appears to be a blatant disregard for the lives and safety of those who require international protection". The mostly Muslim Rohingya have been heavily persecuted in Myanmar for decades. One million Rohingya live in a string of squalid camps in Bangladesh after escaping a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar. Thousands of them risk their lives each year on long sea journeys to seek refuge elsewhere. Andrews' statement pointed to reports that Indian authorities last week detained dozens of Rohingya refugees living in Delhi, "many or all of whom held refugee identification documents". Around 40 members of the group were reportedly blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then transferred to an Indian naval ship, he said. "After the boat crossed the Andaman Sea, the refugees were reportedly given life jackets, forced into the sea and made to swim to an island in Myanmar territory," he said. "Such cruel actions would be an affront to human decency and represent a serious violation of the principle of non-refoulment," he said, pointing out that Rohingya "face the threat of violence, persecution and other grave human rights violations in Myanmar". "The government of India must immediately and unequivocally repudiate unconscionable acts against Rohingya refugees, stop all deportations to Myanmar and ensure that those responsible for these blatant violations of India's international obligations are held responsible," Andrews said.
Straits Times
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
India is accused of inhumanely deporting Rohingya refugees
The episode appeared to be part of a broader recent crackdown. PHOTO: REUTERS NEW DELHI – The United Nations has called for an investigation into 'credible reports' that Indian authorities rounded up Rohingya refugees and expelled them, in some cases by putting them into the Andaman Sea off the shore of the same country they had escaped from, fearing persecution and death. The episode appeared to be part of a broader recent crackdown, as officials of India's government used a moment of conflict with its neighbour Pakistan to expand a campaign of oppression against minority Muslims. 'The idea that Rohingya refugees have been cast into the sea from naval vessels is nothing short of outrageous,' said Mr Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. 'I am seeking further information and testimony regarding these developments and implore the Indian government to provide a full accounting of what happened.' He urged the Indian government to refrain from 'inhumane and life-threatening treatment of Rohingya refugees, including their repatriation into perilous conditions in Myanmar'. The Indian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As tensions escalated with Pakistan after India accused it of having a supporting hand in a terror attack that killed more than two dozen Indians in April , Indian authorities announced punitive measures, including expelling Pakistani citizens. Officials of right-wing governments across several Indian states rounded up thousands of Muslims, purportedly Rohingya or Bangladeshi people living illegally in India. Such labels, along with 'Pakistani', are often used to target Muslim migrants from other parts of India. The most sweeping actions were in Gujarat, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, and in Rajasthan. While a majority of those detained turned out to be Indian citizens and were later released, those who were identified as Rohingya and Bangladeshi have been deported in large numbers, including some with refugee documents that were supposed to give them protection. The People's Union for Civil Liberties, an India-based human rights group, criticised the move. 'At the very least, the Rohingyas are entitled to due process under existing law which requires that the detainee get notice, opportunity of hearing and representation,' the group said in a statement. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
UN agency, Rohingya refugees allege Indian authorities cast dozens of them into the sea near Myanmar
NEW DELHI (AP): Indian authorities allegedly forced dozens of Rohingya refugees off a naval vessel into the sea near Myanmar last week after providing them with life jackets, a United Nations agency, family members of the refugees and their lawyer said. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement on Thursday, said at least 40 Rohingya refugees were detained in New Delhi and cast into the sea by the Indian navy near the maritime border with Myanmar. The refugees - including children, women and older people - swam ashore, but their whereabouts in Myanmar remain unknown, the agency said. Five Rohingya refugees on Friday confirmed to the Associated Press that their family members were part of the group that were detained by Indian authorities on May 6. The group, including 15 Christians, were flown in an aircraft and later cast into the sea by Indian navy authorities on May 8, they said. Dilawar Hussain, a lawyer representing the refugees, said the families have filed a petition in India's top court, urging the Indian government to bring them back to New Delhi. India's navy and foreign ministry declined to comment. In its statement Thursday, the rights office said it had appointed a U.N. expert to probe into what it called were "unconscionable, unacceptable acts." The U.N. agency urged the Indian government to refrain from "inhumane and life-threatening treatment of Rohingya refugees, including their repatriation into perilous conditions in Myanmar.' Tom Andrews, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called the incident "blatant disregard for the lives and safety of those who require international protection' and "nothing short of outrageous.' "Such cruel actions would be an affront to human decency and represent a serious violation of the principle of non-refoulment, a fundamental tenet of international law that prohibits states from returning individuals to a territory where they face threats to their lives or freedom,' Andrews said in the statement. India does not have a national policy or a law to deal with refugees. It is also not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. But hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees have fled persecution in Myanmar after suffering oppression in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where officials have been accused of genocide. According to Refugees International, of the estimated 40,000 Rohingya refugees living in India at least 22,500 are registered with the UNHCR. Many of them live in squalid camps in various Indian states. One of those refugees, who has not been identified by AP due to safety concerns, said his brother was among those returned. He said he received a call from his brother on May 8 after he managed to borrow a phone from a local fisherman after making landfall on an island in Myanmar. He told him Indian authorities removed their restraints and blindfolds, gave them life jackets and told them swim to an island in Myanmar territory. "My parents were taken from me and thrown into the waters," said the man, whose two brothers, parents and a sister-in-law were part of the group, according to his brother. 'It would be enough if I am reunited with my parents. I just want my parents, nothing else.' Thet Swe, a spokesman for Myanmar's military-led government, did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment. The refugee in India said most of those returned were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in India and were detained by Indian authorities under the pretext of collecting their biometric data. He also shared with the AP pictures of his brother while he was detained by Indian authorities and taken in a police vehicle. AP also reviewed a recording of another phone call made by a refugee to his brother in New Delhi. The man who made the call is heard saying some people from the group were beaten by Indian navy authorities. It was not possible to independently verify these claims. In recent years, Rohingya refugees have faced persecution and attacks from India's Hindu nationalist groups, who have demanded their expulsion from India. Many of them have also been held in various detention centers across India and are viewed as illegal immigrants. Some have been deported to neighboring Bangladesh and Myanmar. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government implemented a controversial citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslim migrants, including Rohingyas. -- Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, Rajesh Roy in New Delhi and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Express Tribune
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
India draws flak over reported sea expulsion of Rohingya refugees
Listen to article Indian authorities are facing international condemnation after reports emerged that at least 40 Rohingya refugees were forcibly expelled into the Andaman Sea near Myanmar. The United Nations has condemned the actions, calling for an immediate investigation. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) stated that the refugees, including women, children, and elderly individuals, were detained in New Delhi on May 6 and subsequently cast into the sea by the Indian navy on May 8 after being provided with life jackets. According to testimonies from survivors, the refugees swam ashore but their current whereabouts in Myanmar remain unknown. One refugee reported that his family members were among those deported and managed to contact him after reaching an island in Myanmar. He described being told by his brother that Indian authorities removed their restraints, gave them life jackets, and instructed them to swim to an island in Myanmar territory. The OHCHR condemned the actions as a serious violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to a country where they may face harm. Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called the incident "blatant disregard for the lives and safety of those who require international protection" and "nothing short of ... ." In response, lawyer Dilawar Hussain filed a petition in India's Supreme Court seeking the return of the deported refugees. However, the court expressed frustration over repeated petitions on the same issue without presenting new facts. On May 8, the Supreme Court ruled that only Indian citizens have the right to reside in the country, rejecting pleas to halt the deportation of Rohingya Muslim migrants. India's navy and foreign ministry have declined to comment on the allegations. The incident has drawn comparisons to previous reports of mistreatment of refugees and has raised concerns about India's treatment of displaced individuals. The UN has called for an investigation into the incident and urged the Indian government to refrain ... ." The situation highlights the challenges faced by Rohingya refugees in India, many of whom live in precarious conditions without legal recognition or protection. India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refuge ... and does not have a national policy to deal with refugees, leaving many displaced individuals vulnerable to deportation and mistreatment. The Rohingya, an ethno-religious Muslim minority from Myanmar's Rakhine State, represent the world's largest stateless community, with over 3.5 million people dispersed across borders yet recognised as citizens by almost no nation. Myanmar's 1982 citizenship law effectively rendered them stateless by excluding them from the country's 135 recognised ethnic groups.
