The Indian government yesterday told the nation’s top court that some of the Muslim Rohingya who have fled Myanmar are a serious security threat as it sought to justify moves to deport up to 40,000 of them.
Senior Indian Home Ministry official Mukesh Mittal said the Supreme Court must allow the government to take a decision in the wider interests of the country since some of the Rohingya have an extremist record.
“Some of the Rohingyas with militant background are also found to be very active in Jammu, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mewat and have been identified as having a very serious and potential threat to the national security of India,” he said in a written statement to the court.
Photo: AFP
The statement also highlighted the “serious potential” for an “eruption of violence against the Buddhists who are Indian citizens who stay on Indian soil.”
The Rohingya have denied any link with Muslim extremist groups.
The statement came in response to a petition filed at the Supreme Court challenging the government’s decision to deport the Rohingya, many of whom have been in India for the past decade.
Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer representing the Rohingya, said the Indian constitution “provides equal rights and liberty to every person” including non-citizens.
Mohammad Salimullah, one of the two Rohingya petitioners, said the authorities in New Delhi had always been helpful so he was hopeful the court would support the refugees.
The UN said there are 16,000 registered Rohingya in India, but many more are undocumented. The government puts the figure at 40,000.
About 7,000 of them live in shanties in India’s Jammu Kashmir state and they say they have faced hostility from the majority Hindu community there.
Rights groups have urged India to abide by its international obligations after the government said last month it had asked state authorities to identify and deport the Rohingya living in their territories.
Many experts question where India could send the Rohingya even if the deportations get Supreme Court backing.
Myanmar claims the community are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship.
Meanwhile, pressure grew yesterday on Myanmar’s government as Human Rights Watch urged world leaders to impose sanctions on the Burmese military, which is accused of driving out more than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims in an orchestrated “ethnic cleansing” campaign.
The call from Human Rights Watch came as the UN General Assembly prepared to convene in New York City, with the crisis in Myanmar one of the most pressing topics.
Myanmar hinted on Sunday that it would not take back all who had fled across the border, accusing those refugees of having links to the Rohingya militants whose raids on police posts last month triggered the army backlash.
Any moves to block the refugees’ return will likely inflame Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, who will urge the General Assembly to put more global pressure on Myanmar to take back all the Rohingya massing in shanty towns and camps near the border.
Human Rights Watch also called for the “safe and voluntary return” of the displaced as it urged governments around the globe to punish Myanmar’s army with sanctions for the “ongoing atrocities” against the Rohingya.
It called on the General Assembly to make the crisis a priority, urging countries to impose travel bans and asset freezes on Burmese officers implicated in the abuses, as well as to expand arms embargoes.
Burmese State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi is preparing a televised address to the nation today on the crisis.
The Nobel peace laureate has angered the international community with her near-silence on the plight of the Rohingya and her failure to condemn the actions of the army.
In other developments, police in Bangladesh yesterday ramped up security as more than 10,000 Muslim hardliners marched on Myanmar’s embassy in Dhaka to protest against the violence driving the Rohingya out of Myanmar.
A huge crowd of demonstrators in white robes chanting “God is great” assembled outside Bangladesh’s largest mosque ahead of the planned “siege” of the embassy.
The Hefazat-e-Islami has vowed to station hundreds of thousands of followers outside the embassy.
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS