facbook twitter googlepluse Youtube We aren’t terrorists, says Rohingya petition in Supreme Court

Source – intoday.in

Breaking silence on suspicion that the community had been radicalised, the Rohingya community on Tuesday claimed before the Supreme Court that they have no connection with any terrorist organisation. They contended that they were being targeted for deportation only because they were Muslims.

A plea filed on behalf of approximately 7,000 Rohingya refugees residing in 23 settlements in Jammu said: “We have nothing to do with terrorism. Ever since we began residing in Jammu, there has been no such allegation against us. Not a single one of us has ever been engaged in any kind of terrorist activity. “The local police have for more than a year conducted interrogation of all the Rohingyas and have taken full details of each family. The local police have inspected our settlements several times every month. All the Rohingyas cooperate with the police and give them all required information. There is therefore not a single terrorist in our midst”.

BENCH HEADED BY CHIEF JUSTICE DIPAK MISRA

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra posted the plea for hearing it next Monday along with the one filed by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, challenging the move to deport them back to Myanmar.

Rohingyas, in their petition also said the Centre’s move was against right to equality as Rohingyas are being discriminated against when compared to the government’s treatment of Tibetans and other refugees. “We have been singled out for very harsh treatment including deportation – which will surely result in our execution.

This is being done because we are poor and we are Muslims. The Myanmarese government has adopted a straight-forward and blatantly racist stance with regard to us”, they said. India has warned Myanmar that Pakistan-based militants like Lashkar-e-Taiba are radicalising members of the Rohingya community that posed a security risk to both the countries as well as the region. MHA said that according to available data, more than 14,000 Rohingyas, registered with the UNHCR, were staying in India and also that there were another 40,000 staying in the country illegally.

HOME MINISTRY WARNS STATES OF TERRORISM-RELATED ACTIVITIES

In a communication to all states, the Union Home ministry said that the rise of terrorism in the last few decades has become a serious concern for most nations, as illegal migrants are prone to getting recruited by terrorist organisations.

The fresh petition assumes significance in the wake of two intervention petitions in the case by former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya and Chennai-based Indic Collective Trust through lawyer Suvidutt Sundaram seeking deportation of the Rohingya refugees. While Govindacharya contended, “It has also become known that al Qaeda is trying to use the Rohingya community for terror and jihad,” the trust has said their presence posed “social, economic and security” threat to India.