‘Rohingyas pose threat to India’s internal security’

New Delhi: The central government on Monday told the Supreme Court (SC) that some of the members of Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya Muslim community had links to Daesh and Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI, and thus posed a serious threat to India’s security.

“Many of the Rohingyas figure in the suspected sinister designs of [Daesh]and other extremists groups who want to achieve their ulterior motives in India including that of flaring up communal and sectarian violence in sensitive areas of the country. Some of the Rohingyas with a militant background are 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 internal/national security of India,” the government said in its affidavit filed in SC in response to the question of Rohingyas’ deportation back to their homeland.

The Centre’s affidavit, filed in the apex court registry, said the fundamental right to reside and settle in any part of the country is available to citizens only and illegal refugees cannot invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to enforce the right.

Earlier during the day, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra considered the statement of ASG [Additional Solicitor General of India] Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, that the reply would be filed later on Monday and fixed the public interest litigation challenging the deportation of Rohingyas for hearing on October 3.

“As evident from the constitutional guarantee flowing from Article 19 of the Constitution, the right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India as well as right to move freely throughout the territory of India is available only to the citizens of India. No illegal immigrant can pray for a writ of this Court, which directly or indirectly confer the fundamental rights in general,” the affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

Referring to security agency inputs, the government said there was a serious potential and possibility of eruption of violence by radicalised Rohingyas against Buddhists in India.

“Rohingyas are a threat to peaceful Buddhists in India. There is an organised network of touts operating in Myanmar and West Bengal and Tripura to facilitate illegal Rohingya influx. The right to reside and settle in the country is available only to citizens and not to illegal immigrants,” the government stated.

It also said the influx of illegal immigrants had a direct detrimental effect on the basic human rights of country’s own citizens.

The court gave the government time until October three to file its response to a bunch of petitions filed by Rohingya Muslims opposing their deportation.

Earlier, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said Rohingya Muslim refugees were a security concern for India and criticism of India’s treatment of the ethnic minority was a calibrated design to tarnish the country’s image.

“This chorus of branding India as villain on Rohingya issue is a calibrated design to tarnish India’s image. Such statements undermine India’s security,” Rijiju had said last week.

He flayed attempts to brand India as a “villain” on Rohingya refugee issue. His comments came two days after United Nations human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussain slammed attempts by India to deport Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“I deplore current measures in India to deport Rohingya at a time of such violence against them in their country. Some 40,000 Rohingya have settled in India and 16,000 of them have received refugee documentation. The Minister of State for Home Affairs has reportedly said that because India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, the country can dispense with international law on the matter, together with basic human compassion. However, by virtue of customary law, its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the obligations of due process and the universal principle of non-refoulement (a number of international instruments relating to refugees), India cannot carry out collective expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious violations,” Hussain, while addressing the 36th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, had said earlier this month.

Reacting to that, Rijiju had said that India needed no lessons on how to accommodate refugees.

“We do not need lessons on how to treat refugees with compassion. The 40,000 Rohingyas who have entered India will be entitled to fair legal procedure. We are not going to shoot them nor we are planning to throw them in the ocean. India is not a signatory to UN human rights convention but still the country has been hosting millions of refugees,” the Home Minister said.

Home Ministry has already warned all state governments that Rohingyas could be vulnerable to recruitment by terror groups.