No other verification method allowed, MEA told; 7 Rohingyas deported after SC nodRajesh Kumar n
Myanmar has conveyed to India that Rohingyas will have to be identified only on the basis of a separate bi-lingual nationality verification form provided by it and not through any other means.
The Embassy of Myanmar has told the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) that it would not entertain any other verification method which does not match with its own data on Rohingyas.
The development comes even as India on Thursday deported seven Rohingya immigrants, who have been staying in Assam illegally, to their country of origin — Myanmar — in a first such move with regard to the people from the Rakhine province of the neighbouring country.
The illegal immigrants were detained in 2012 and since then were lodged in Cachar Central Jail in Assam’s Silchar. The confirmation of the Myanmarese citizenship of the illegal immigrants came after the Government of the neighbouring country verified their addresses in Rakhine State and all of them were given travel documents by Myanmar.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court rejected the plea made by one of the Rohingya refugees seeking to restrain the Centre from deporting them to Myanmar.
On Myanmar’s condition for taking back Rohingyas, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all State Governments to identify them strictly as per the Myanmar verification form. The MHA also advised the States to capture Rohingya immigrants’ personal particulars in the new bilingual nationality verification form and got signed by such illegal immigrants and their guardians.
The Ministry has also prepared a list of non-government organisations (NGOs) providing assistance to Rohingyas in Delhi.
On the repatriation of seven Rohingya immigrants staying in Assam, the MEA has stated that their repatriation was arranged after “reconfirming” their willingness to return and with “full concurrence” of the Myanmarese Government.
“The MEA has stated that Embassy of Myanmar has provided them a separate nationality verification form and will not entertain any other form.
The new form includes some additional identifiers not included in the form circulated by the home ministry in October, 2017. MEA has requested to provide completed personal data in new bilingual form in duplicate with two photographs to enable them to forward the forms for verification to the Embassy of Myanmar,” the MHA said in the letter.
The letter further stated, “There are differences in the figures or data on Rohingya population mentioned by some of the State Governments and those supplied to the Home Ministry by the Central Security Agencies. “The State Government may reconcile the data with the figures supplied by the Ministry while capturing the personal particulars of illegal Rohingya migrants,” it said.
Sources in the Home Ministry said the data on illegal Rohingya immigrants captured by the State Governments was shared with MEA to take up the confirmation of their nationality with the Myanmar Government. “It was also found that most of the data of Rohingya migrants did not match with the records of the Myanmar Government,” said the sources.
The Home Ministry had earlier reviewed the Rohingya migrants issue in the country. It was found that figures of Rohingya mismatch with some of the State Governments and those supplied to MHA by security forces. The Joint Secretary (Foreign) has made it clear that the instructions have already been issued to the UIDAI for not issuing Aadhar card to illegal migrants.
“It was also apprised that India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to status of refugees and the 1967 protocol thereon. As such UNHCR cards have no relevance to the issuance of Aadhar cards which can be issued only to legal residents in India,” the minutes of the meeting on Rohingya said.
According to a reply in the Rajya Sabha by the Government, the Rohingya population has increased to 40,000 in the past two years.