By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo, January 4: The persecuted Muslim Rohingyas of Myanmar are a community no country, including their own, wants. Their plight and their search for a home, have drawn world attention and yet no country except The Gambia in Africa, has moved to help them get justice. While in Gaza the genocide of Palestinians is being done by raining bomb son them from the air, in the case of the Rohingyas it is being done by denying them a place to live with dignity and assurance of life and property.
The Gambia, a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) took the Rohingya’s case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is before the International Criminal Court (ICC) also, but only to languish.
While Myanmar refuses to give them citizenship, branding them as Bangladeshi immigrants, Bangladesh sees them as belonging to Myanmar, though Bengali speaking. As for India, it has reservations about Muslim immigrants in general. In its view, the Rohingyas are susceptible to radical Islamic or “Jehadist” influences. Even a Muslim country like Indonesia is not touching the Rohingyas with a barge poll. As for Sri Lanka, the Rohingyas are rank outsiders with no religious, ethnic or historical links with it.
The Rohingyas are being driven out of Myanmar by a denial of citizenship. They are caught in the crossfire between the separatist Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar government forces called Tatmadaw. The government’s military operations, which began in 2017, have so far pushed more than a million Rohingyas into the Chittagong district in Bangladesh, where there are put up in sprawling and squalid camps.
The Bangladesh government has been trying hard to get the Myanmar government to take them back. But the refugees refuse to live under the junta under. They are convinced that they will never get fundamental rights, including citizenship.
Bangladesh tried to get the two influential regional powers, China and India, to persuade Yangon to take back the refugees, but to no effect. Neither Beijing nor New Delhi was ready to engage Yangon on this issue, keeping in their view their respective geopolitical interests. Both were of the view that the Myanmar military must be kept in good humour.
In a Cleft Stick
According to Sreeparna Banerjee of the Indian think tank the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), both the military junta and the Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAO) exploit the Rohingya’s vulnerabilities to further their respective agendas.
The military is conscripting Rohingyas just like it is conscripting other Myanmarese. Since February 2024, the Myanmar military has forcibly recruited over 1,000 Rohingyas from displacement camps in Kyaukphyu, Sittwe, Maungdaw, and Buthiduang townships. These are being used as human shields in warfare. There are also allegations of extortion and targeted killings of Rohingyas by the Arakan Army (AA), Bannerjee says.
In the Bangladeshi refugee camps, Rohingyas face a fierce rivalry between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO). Both threaten the hapless refugees daily through extortion, abduction, and involvement in trafficking. According to Bannerjee, ARSA is working for the military junta by forcefully taking Rohingyas to be trained to fight for the Myanmar army.
Sri Lanka and Rohingyas
On December 19, a multi-day trawler carrying 115 Rohingyas drifted towards the coast of Mullivaikkal in Eastern Sri Lanka. The boat had 103 persons seeking asylum, alongside 12 persons who had organized the journey. The Trincomalee Magistrate remanded the 12 organizers and ordered the rest to be sent to the Mirihana Immigration Detention Centre. But for security reasons, the government put them in the Air Force camp st Mullaitivu.They are yet to be classified as refugees.
Investigations are ongoing to verify the identities of these individuals. Officials said they are expect to see legal documents to confirm their identities. The bureaucracy appears to be eager to deport them.
On December 27, the Human Rights Council of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) wrote to Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasising that according to section 11(d) of the HRCSL Act, No. 21 of 1996, the powers and functions of the Commission extend not only to Sri Lankan citizens, but to ‘any person’ detained within Sri Lanka. Therefore, the Commission has the statutory authority to access the said Air Force Camp and monitor the detention conditions of all asylum seekers.
The President’s reply was awaited. But the Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala said that refugees could not be treated as criminals. He added that Sri Lanka was well aware of the grim situation in Myanmar.
Human rights activist Shreen Saroor told Dailt Mirror: “Without the UNHCR’s active presence, nobody will know what happens to refugees. Even if they are deported, we will have no information about the conditions under which they are sent back. This is why we need the UNHCR to be involved,”
But Lakshan Dias, a human rights lawyer, said that despite the UNHCR operating as a one-person liaison office in Sri Lanka since 2025, it had continued to accept refugee applications and issue recognition papers with support from the UNHCR Bangkok hub.
“These individuals can still apply to the UNHCR Colombo office to seek asylum. There is no obstacle to that process,” he clarified.
He further said: “Non-refoulement is an international law concept that states no one should be sent back to their country without consent, especially if they have valid reasons. The Rohingyas were intercepted, apprehended, and brought ashore by the Navy. They claimed to be heading to another destination to seek asylum. They do fall under the broader ambit of refugees and asylum seekers.”
At ICJ and ICC
The Rohingya issue was taken to the International Court of Justice by The Gambia, on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but it is languishing there.
The matter is in the International Criminal Court (ICC) too. On 14 November 2019, the Pre-Trial Chamber III of the ICC authorised the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for the alleged crimes in Myanmar. On 27 November 2024, ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan filed an application for a warrant of arrest for Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Defence Services, for the alleged crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of Rohingyas, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh. The application is pending before Pre-Trial Chamber.
Faint Changes in Indian Stand
Seeing the emerging scenario in Myanmar, where the junta yielding ground to the EAOs, India has started moving towards the rebel groups. Opponents of Myanmar’s ruling junta attended a seminar in New Delhi on November 5 and 6, organized by the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA).
The Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said on November 6 that the conference, was designed to “help develop a Myanmar-led and Myanmar-owned solution to address the country’s current challenges.” He went on to pledge India’s “steadfast support” for Myanmar’s democracy and stability. With this, has India may have stolen a march over China. India’s next steps are eagerly awaited by the pro-democracy groups in Myanmar.
US Stand Unclear
There is doubt about American backing to the anti-Junta groups given President-elect Donald Trump’s inward-looking policies and his transactional approach in international relations.
The Myanmar daily The Irrawaddy fears that if Trump strikes economically advantageous deals with China, he may turn a blind eye to the goings on in Myanmar and to Beijing’s close relations with the junta. The junta may still have the last word.
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