Over a hundred Rohingya refugees, mostly children, are now being held at the Mullaitivu Air Force Base. These Rohingya refugees fleeing the war in Myanmar were rescued by a group of Tamil fishermen on the 19th December while stranded on the shores of Mullaitivu.
About two weeks ago, a team of Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission officials who visited the Mullaitivu Air Force Base for the second time have seen the sad situation of the refugees had not changed and they were still deprived of even the basic human needs. This was even after six months of the situation continuing.
‘If they were treated well, more will come’
“I’m sorry to say that there has been no change in the situation of those people,” said Commissioner Dr. Gehan Gunathilaka.
Dr. Gunathilaka reveals that the Sri Lankan government’s policy decision to ignore the refugees is the reason why no state institution has intervened to protect their human rights and provide social welfare.
“During an inquiry conducted by the commission, which summoned the heads of state institutions, one thing that many of them clearly said was that, ‘If we provide facilities and care for these refugees who have arrived, it could be an encouragement to others, so we have taken a policy decision to ignore them,'” said Dr. Gunathilaka.
117 Rohingya refugees, including 58 children under the age of 18, are currently being held at the Mullaitivu Air Force Base. This includes two Rohingya babies born in Sri Lanka. The Air Force Base has minimal rights and welfare facilities. It also has no opportunity for any outside party to inquire regarding them. However, the institutions with legal authority to intervene in cases of children, women, and patients with special needs have the right to act without being subject to these restrictions, if they want.
Sleepy childcare
Commissioner Gehan Gunathilaka said that it is unfortunate that the National Child Protection Authority with the domestic power to act on behalf of children, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has powers to intervene internationally, have not paid due attention to these refugees. He warned that the failure of such institutions to intervene independently will only worsen the situation of the refugees, regardless of the political decision taken by the Sri Lankan government.
The Commission had previously drawn the attention of the state authorities to the fact that refugees suffer from a variety of problems, including serious health and nutritional deficiencies. The Commission had therefore urged them to treat the refugees with compassion and act in accordance with national and international humanitarian law.
We have previously exposed the situation of Rohingya war refugees on several occasions and have repeatedly asked the National Child Protection Authority and the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs what intervention they are taking in this regard. However, the authorities of those institutions have not responded on any occasion.
HRC recommendations in the backburner
A Human Rights Commission investigation team was first given the opportunity to meet Rohingya refugees detained at the Mullaitivu Air Force Base on January 09. A report containing their recommendations was subsequently published.
“No one has implemented any of the commission’s recommendations. We feel really sorry about that,” says Dr. Gunathilaka.
“The UNHCR kept telling us that they would intervene and take action after the commission’s report was published. But it has been several months since the report was released. Nothing has happened. The situation inside the country is also the same,” the Commissioner of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission said emotionally.
He further stated that although the Commission has requested the Sri Lankan authorities to grant permission to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) officials and journalists to enter the camp premises, this has not been implemented till date.
Apart from that, the commission had also recommended to meet the nutritional needs of all those in the camps, including children, women and the sick, immediately. Furthermore, the recommendations included that the refugees should be released from the military camp premises and housed in an appropriate place that suits the mentality of children, since the displaced people are war victims.
The Commission had also issued recommendations to the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Sri Lanka Air Force to make arrangements to urgently provide the women and children detained in the camp with hygiene items, clothing, medical supplies and other essential items as external aid. According to Dr. Gunathilaka, none of these have been implemented even after several months.
Intelligence report of 100,000
Even during the massive earthquake that struck Myanmar and Thailand last month, the Myanmar military junta had launched airstrikes targeting areas inhabited by Rohingya refugees. Also, there have been several meetings between security advisors at the Myanmar embassy in Sri Lanka and high-ranking government officials and the political establishment in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, on the 8th of January, the Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said in Parliament that one hundred thousand illegal immigrants are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka in the next few days.
“116 illegal Myanmar migrants have entered the country. Investigations are underway in this regard. According to the investigations by the police, they have joined this racket by paying money. For the boat, 50 million have been paid in their currency. In addition, another 80 million have been paid in their country’s currency to the organizers for the journey. According to the investigations conducted by the police and the intelligence agencies, 100,000 such migrants are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka in the next few days.”
A Muslim politician representing the ruling party, who requested anonymity, sarcastically told us that perhaps the Myanmar government itself might have provided the figures to Sri Lankan intelligence agencies.
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