The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has summoned the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to appear before it and explain why their officials were stopped by them when they went to visit the Rohingya refugees lodged in Mullaitivu.
HRCSL has summoned the chief of Immigration to appear before it on Tuesday (31) to provide an explanation regarding their actions.
They were allegedly stopped from visiting the 115 Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar, who were rescued by the Tamil fishermen from Mullaitivu off their coast on 24 December this year and were subsequently taken to Trincomalee by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Those refugees are being lodged at the Sri Lanka Air Force Camp in Mullaitivu in the Northern Province.
Now the commission has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka expressing their resentment at being stopped from visiting the refugees to know about their well-being and their detention conditions.
Among the 115 Rohingya asylum seekers, over 45 individuals are children and many are reported to be infants according to the HRCSL.
There was a suggestion by the locals that the Rohingya refugees be offloaded in Mullaitivu and after medical examination and support for the pregnant ladies and kids in Mullaitivu and then a decision be taken on their future. But the Navy, it is alleged, forcefully escorted the boat to the Naval base in Trinco only to be returned to the SLAF camp in Mullaitivu.
The Place called “Sri Lanka Air Force Station” at Mullaitivu where Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar are held, has been declared a ‘Temporary Detention Place’ from the 23rd of December, 2024, by Ravi Seneviratne, Secretary, Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs.
HRCSL officials including one of their directors were denied permission to visit the ‘refugee camp’ by the SLAF authorities citing that ‘they cannot permit anyone without the permission of the immigration authorities who are lodged in detention camps’.
According to the Human Rights Commission, the Commander of the Mullaitivu Air Force camp told them that they have been ordered by the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration not to allow them to meet the asylum seekers.
However, the HRCSL were informed that if a written request was placed, then permission could be granted by the Immigration officials over phone. Based on this, an official request letter was sent by the secretary of the commission to the Controller of Immigration.
Despite being advised to place a written request the HRCSL officials were snubbed by the Immigration department saying they wouldn’t be in a position to grant such permission and they should approach the Minister for Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs. However, such communications were only presented orally and not officially in writing.
In response, the Human Rights Commission wrote to AKD the next day emphasizing 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, including the children present,” they told the President.
Apart from writing to the President about the issues they faced while attempting to visit the Rohingya refugees, it also requested him to “issue appropriate directives to relevant institutions to facilitate access to the asylum seekers”.
Additionally, the nation’s Human Rights body reaffirmed its statutory obligations to examine the conditions under which these asylum seekers are being held.
One of the Rohingya refugees told local journalists in broken Hindi, that they feared for their lives in Myanmar and were forced to flee to save their lives amidst constant bombing.
“We came here because we have been facing a lot of problems in Burma for a long time. Fighting is going on in Rakhine state. Constant bombing is also happening. Due to this the public are very scared. We are very disturbed and people keep on dying”.
They added, despite their distressed situation, they were left with no option but to escape to save their lives.
“The situation is becoming very bad and we feel we cannot live here. So we pooled in some money and bought this boat and left the country. Because we are not being recognized and beaten up also day by day we are being killed”.
Rohingya people are Muslims and a minority in the Rakhine state in Myanmar which is ruled by the Military. Consistent attacks against the Rohingyas since 2017 have forced them to flee Myanmar for safety fearing for their lives.
According to the UN refugee agency, nearly half of the displaced Rohingyas following the military takeover in February 2021 have fled Myanmar.
“By the end of 2023, there were more than 2.6 million internally displaced people (IDP) in the country. An additional 1.3 million refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar are hosted in other countries, including nearly 1 million stateless Rohingya refugees who are living in Bangladesh,” says UNHCR.
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