An MP has raised the issue of Muslim Rohingyas refugees with Bangladeshi Ambassador Sadiq Khan MP, Member of Parliament for Tooting, has written to the High Commissioner for Bangladesh asking for him to respond to reports that Muslim Rohingyas, seeking a safe haven from persecution and violence in Burma, are being turned away by Bangladeshi authorities.
The allegations were made in a report by Human Rights Watch, who claim to have witnessed Rohingya men, women and children land on Bangladeshi shores only to be forced back into their ‘barely seaworthy wooden boats’ where they risk drowning or starving at sea – or returning to persecution in Burma.
The Rohingya refugees are fleeing state sanctioned violence in Burma, where it estimated that 78 people have been killed and more than 100,000 people displaced by the actions of the ruling military junta.
The Rohingya are an ethnic minority which lives in the Rakhine State in west Burma. Earlier this summer an incendiary pamphlet was circulated, claiming that an Arakan woman was raped and killed by three Muslim men.
Violent reprisals between Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims escalated until the military junta, which governs Burma, declared a state of emergency in Rakhine State on 10th June.
The state of emergency resulted in a concerted period of violence being used against Rohingya communities by state security forces causing many to seek safety in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Sadiq has written to the Foreign Secretary, twice, and also the Secretary of state for International Development to ask what the British government will be doing to prevent further violence in Burma and ensure that a humanitarian crisis does not develop. Sadiq has also asked the Foreign Secretary intends to provide the Bangladeshi government with assistance in order to help them alleviate the pressure on accepting refugees.
Sadiq Khan MP said: “The report by Human Rights Watch into the violence perpetrated by Burmese state security forces is shocking. It is completely understandable that families would seek asylum in another, friendly, state.
“However the reports that Rohingya refugees are being pushed back into the sea, after arriving in Bangladesh, is as concerning as it is surprising. It is my hope that the reports are false, and that Bangladeshi authorities are accepting refugees – which is, of course, international law.
“To be forced out of your home through violence, then told that your only safe haven will not shelter you, is difficult to comprehend.
“I will do all I can to raise awareness of this issue, and to ensure that the British government does all it can to prevent further suffering and deaths.
“The violence towards the Muslim Rohingya is extremely serious and causing unnecessary bloodshed and suffering.
"It is crucial that the violence ends immediately. Especially in this holy month of Ramadhan, I have been inundated with British citizens expressing concern about the plight of these innocent Burmese Muslims.
“I have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development asking that the British government take action to stop the violence and provide aid to those who need it.
“We have seen positive actions from the Burmese government in recent years – such as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from housearrest – but they need to realise that the first job of government is to secure the safety of all citizens.
“It is important that the British government uses all its influence to end this savage treatment of the Rohingya community by the Burmese authorities as a matter of urgency.”
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