The Rohingya offered themselves to be individually screened for terror elements, comparing their condition to how the Tamil Nadu government had filtered Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, fleeing the war and unrest in the island nation during the 1980s, in order to identify LTTE members.
“In the case of Sri Lankan refugees, the government had put in place a screening mechanism to identify those associated with LTTE [whom India had declared as a terrorist organisation] or having a criminal record and had put them in special camps. The handbook of the Department of Rehabilitation, Government of Tamil Nadu, on how Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were screened describes how officials of police and intelligence departments conduct enquiries at the quarantine camp with newly arriving refugees,” their affidavit in the Supreme Court said on Friday.
It submitted that a similar process must be followed to isolate those among the Rohingya refugees in India who are being perceived by the government as a national security threat. Any Rohingya refugee found to be a militant can be proceeded against in accordance with law and he or she can be stripped of the status of a refugee under the exclusion clause of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the plea said.
The counter-affidavit replies to the Centre’s claims that the 40,000-odd Rohingya community is a threat to national security, easy prey for radicalisation and a drain on natural resources.
Track record
The affidavit referred to India’s strong track record of hosting refugees of different profiles from those from Tibet to ethnic Chakmas and Hajongs.
The Rohingya community, represented by Mohammad Salimullah, the main petitioner who moved the Supreme Court, said the government could not make a “blanket claim that all Rohingya refugees have terror links.”
“Several Hindus who left due to this ethnic persecutions are also part of the ethnic Rohingya population that has fled Myanmar,” the counter said. “According to our information, there is not a single FIR registered against the members of the Rohingya community so far in any matter that would jeopardise national security,” the affidavit, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, said.
It suggested the apex court to direct the government to conduct “individual refugee determination” of Rohingya in India with the assistance of the NHRC and the UNHRC along with regional offices of the FRRO.
On the government’s claim that Rohingya would deprive citizens of national resources, the affidavit said the fundamental right to life is applicable to both citizens and non-citizens, including refugees.
It said Rohingya, who flee persecution from Myanmar, are victims of human trafficking.
