Refugees International: Articles: RI Advocacy Letter to Sonia Gandhi

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RI Advocacy Letter to Sonia Gandhi

India 2004 - Burmese Chin Refugee
08/17/2004

Refugees International recently visited India’s Northeastern State of Mizoram and collected information on persecution of ethnic Chin in Burma by the Burmese military as a result of which the Chin have been fleeing to India for more than a decade. The Chin in Mizoram have been trying to survive by keeping a low profile and assimilating with the local communities, but their situation deteriorated sharply in July 2003, when they were targeted by a local youth group, forcibly evicted from their homes, and in many cases, sent back to Burma, with the cooperation of Mizoram government authorities. Almost a year later, the Chin in Mizoram told RI that the youth group continues to harass and abuse them and they live in constant fear of being deported to Burma where they could face torture and even death at the hands of the Burmese military.

RI has written a letter to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the President of India’s Ruling Congress Party, calling upon the Government of India to become involved in providing protection to the Chin in Mizoram. This letter is copied below. For more information on this issue, please see links to the right.

The Honorable Sonia Gandhi
President, Indian National Congress
10 Janpath
New Delhi 110011
India

July 28, 2004

Dear Mrs. Gandhi:

I am writing as the President of Refugees International, a Washington-based humanitarian advocacy organization, to express concern for the well being and safety of thousands of Burmese ethnic Chin, who have sought refuge in Mizoram since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising due to on-going violence and persecution in Burma. Ethnic-based politics in Mizoram have led to increasing vulnerability for the up to 30,000 Chin asylum seekers and special action by the central government is required to protect the Chin there.

I am writing to request the Government of India to allow those Burmese fleeing a well-founded fear of persecution to stay in Mizoram and to direct police to allow entry to those fleeing persecution in Burma. We also encourage the Government of India to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist the Burmese so that India does not have to shoulder the sole burden of protecting them or caring for their humanitarian needs.

The current difficult situation for the Chin in Mizoram originated in a July 2003 incident of rape of a Mizo minor girl, allegedly by a Burmese, which resulted in escalating tensions between the Mizo and Burmese communities. About 10,000 Burmese have been evicted from their homes by a local youth organization, called the Young Mizo Association (YMA), with the knowledge of local and state authorities. Several thousand people have been forced to go back to Burma, a country with a well-documented record of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, and up to 30,000 Burmese remain in hiding in Mizoram. Although tensions between the two communities have subsided to a degree since last year, the Burmese are frequently made into scapegoats in Mizoram, especially at the time of elections, as was the case in 2003. Local authorities consider them to be economic migrants, when in reality many of them are seeking refuge in Mizoram due to political persecution or human rights abuses by the Burmese military.

As an organization that monitors the humanitarian and protection needs of refugees, Refugees International (RI) can confirm that the Chin in Burma are maltreated for being an ethnic minority and endure beatings, torture, rapes and executions. According to RI interviews with Chin deported from Mizoram, those sent back to Burma face the danger of being thrown into labor camps and prisons, where they risk torture, illness, and death.

We urge the Government of India to take steps to stop the harassment of Chin in Mizoram and cease pressure on them by local groups to go back to Burma. We are aware that some Burmese are involved in illegal activities, including drug trafficking, and agree that the Indian government has every right to address this problem under Indian law. These individuals, however, should not be confused with law-abiding people who have come to India in search of a safe haven.

An RI team recently visited Mizoram where the Chin refugees remember former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with much gratitude for his staunch support of Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese pro-democracy movement. The Chin recall how under Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s Government, Indian policy was to strengthen the aspirations of the people of Burma for democracy, and no genuine refugees were prevented from seeking shelter in the country.

Now that there is once again a Congress-led national Government, Burmese refugees are daring to hope that they might receive some protection and assistance from the Government of India, along the lines of programs for refugees from Tibet and Sri Lanka. We trust that you will meet the aspirations of these refugees and continue the legacy of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi by supporting those fleeing persecution in Burma.

We thank you for your attention to these matters and look forward to learning more about how a Congress-led Government will take steps to protect the Burmese refugees in Mizoram.

Respectfully,

Kenneth H. Bacon
President

Enc: Refugees International bulletin on situation of Chin refugees in Mizoram

Cc: The Honorable Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
The Honorable Natwar Singh, Minister of External Affairs of India