Treat Rohingyas as refugees, CPI-M tells Modi government

5 Dariya News

New Delhi 21-Sep-2017

The CPI-M has urged the Modi government to reverse its policy and treat Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar as refugees and said "they cannot be the victims of Islamophobia"."The decision of the Modi government to deport Rohingyas from Myanmar who have taken refuge in India is an unconscionable act," CPI-M journal People's Democracy said in an editorial. It said around 40,000 Rohingyas were living in India over the years, in squalid conditions in makeshift colonies and camps in Delhi, Faridabad, Jaipur, Jammu and other places. "According to the police records of these areas, there are no complaints of any terrorist activity, or, serious crimes involving the people living in these camps. The actual reality contradicts the government's exaggerated and motivated claim they are a security risk."The Communist Party of India-Marxist said the official Indian attitude to these hapless people was determined by their religion which is Muslim.It said that though India was not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, it was a signatory of the Universal Human Rights Declaration and other international conventions on protection of civil and political rights.The editorial said that India should provide all help and assistance to Bangladesh to tackle this humanitarian crisis -- as thousands of Rohingyas have entered that country. "The government has to use diplomatic channels to urge the Myanmar government to end the violence in Rakhine state and to initiate a political solution. "As for the Rohingyas who are residing in India, they should be given refugee status and relevant documentation. This will ensure that they do not meld with the local population and acquire false identity papers."It will also facilitate their being sent back to Myanmar when the conditions there are conducive for their return to line with peace and security. Providing them with refugee status and relevant documentation will also help the authorities to monitor if there are any extremist elements trying to utilise their desperate plight."