Assam: Dispur in Dilemma over Detained Rohingyas in State

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Apart from the declared Bangladeshi nationals lodged in the Matia Detention Camp in the Goalpara district, the Rohingyas lodged there have also become a headache for the Assam government.

For the past two days, the Rohingyas have been staging fast inside the detention camp, demanding the state government hand them over to the Delhi-based United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that can rehabilitate them as refugees in a third country.

Following an instruction from the Chief Minister, top-level officials of the state government have been visiting the detention camp to persuade the detainees to call off their hunger strike.

As many as 103 Rohingyas, including women and children, were caught for entering Assam illegally. They have been languishing in the detention camp since then. The detainees claim that around 40 of them have received refugee cards from UNHCR, even though the state government has not yet handed them over to the UN refugee body. According to official sources, the state government is taking up the matter with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Ministry of External Affairs for the deportation of the detained Rohingyas, as India is not a signatory to the UNCHR Convention. This is a hurdle for India to recognise such people as refugees of India. “We are keeping in touch with the detained Rohingyas, and some of them have been convinced with the steps being taken by the Assam government,” an official said.

Official sources said that the government is examining the legal aspects of the issue, as not all were detained under a single court order. “We are trying to find out what the charges against them are and their legal status,” the official said.

 Also Read: Only 224 illegal foreigners lodged at Matia transit camp in Goalpara district of Assam (sentinelassam.com)

Also Watch: