MEA says New Delhi has been consulting with Myanmar to restore normalcy

India this week urged Myanmar to contain violence against Rohingya Muslims in the western part of the country bordering Bangladesh.

A senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs said India had been in consultation with Myanmar to restore normalcy in the Rohingya territory of the State of Rakhine but pointed out that the issue might not figure in the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India.

“Our view on Rohingya issue is that the situation in the Rakhine State will have to be contained by the Government of Myanmar. Some years back, we had extended a sum of money to the Government of Myanmar to restore communal harmony and the indication from Myanmar was that they would come back to us [for additional financial support],” said Sripriya Ranganathan, official in charge of Myanmar-Bangladesh affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday.

India’s comments followed a day after rights body Amnesty International cautioned New Delhi against forcibly relocating Rohingyas to Myanmar where the community faces discrimination. Amnesty said media reports had suggested that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs was planning to “identify, arrest and deport” thousands of Rohingya refugees from various States of India.

‘Blemish on support’

“Sending Rohingya Muslims back to Myanmar — where the community has faced horrific abuses — would not just be a violation of India’s commitments under international law, but also a blemish on India’s history of supporting those fleeing persecution,” said Raghu Menon, Media and Advocacy Manager at Amnesty International India.

Amnesty’s fresh appeal

The MEA official said the Government of Bangladesh had been vocal in recent times, due to the difficulties it faced over movement of people across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

Amnesty International’s India branch issued a fresh appeal for protection of the Rohingyas, soon after Prime Minister Hasina reached India on Friday.