NEW DELHI – Amnesty International on Monday accused India of disregardinginternational law after a Rohingya family was deported to Myanmar where themilitary is accused of genocide against the stateless Muslim minority.
The family of five, who had been in prison in India’s northeastern Assamstate since 2013, was handed over to Myanmar authorities on Thursday — thesecond such deportation in just months after seven men were returned inOctober.
The United Nations expressed concern over the forcible repatriation of theRohingya while rights groups warned New Delhi was putting the community atserious risk by returning them to Myanmar, where for decades the minorityhas been targeted in violent pogroms by security forces.
The Rohingya are despised by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, whichrefuses to recognise them as citizens and falsely labels them “Bengali”illegal immigrants.
They were concentrated in Rakhine state, the epicentre of a Myanmar armyoffensive that since August 2017 has driven some 720,000 Rohingya Muslimsinto Bangladesh.
“The Rohingya population in Rakhine state in Myanmar continue to live undera system of apartheid,” Amnesty India’s Abhirr V. P. said in a statement.
“The expulsion of asylum-seekers and refugees amounts to a violation ofIndia’s obligations under customary international law, which prohibitsgovernments from returning people to a territory where they are at risk ofserious human rights violations.”
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India is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention.
Indian officials say around 40,000 Rohingya are living in the country,where Hindu hardliners have called for their mass deportation.
Around 18,000 Rohingya in India are registered with the United Nationsrefugee agency.
UNHCR said despite repeated requests they were not granted access to theRohingya family detained in Assam before their deportation.
India’s home ministry told parliament last week that 478 Rohingya werearrested between 2015 and 2018, with last year topping the list with 230detentions along the nation’s borders. – APP / AFP
