Deep divisions over Rohingya ‘refugees’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Sri Lanka must address the developing issue of Rohingya refugees cautiously. Whatever the domestic politics, or divisions within political parties represented in Parliament, the country shouldn’t, under any circumstances, encourage more Rohingyas to seek refuge here or use northern Sri Lanka as a transit point.

Unless the National People’s Power (NPP) government reaches a consensus with the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in this regard, swiftly, interested parties here, and in Myanmar, are likely to exploit the situation to their advantage.

Bankrupt Sri Lanka, beset with political, economic and social problems, cannot afford to accommodate boat loads of Rohingyas.

Rohingyas are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslims hailing from Bangladesh, but denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982. The move has effectively rendered them stateless. Alleging constant persecution over the years by the Myanmar government, Rohingyas have sought refuge elsewhere.

The Rohingya issue attracted fresh public attention after the Navy rescued 115 persons found adrift on a fishing trawler off Mullaitivu on 19 Dec., last year. Although Rohingya shad reached Sri Lankan waters previously, it was not a favoured destination, with majority Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia being their major destinations.

Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala, on 08 January, warned Parliament that as many as 100,000 Rohingyas could reach Sri Lankan waters.

The former Private Secretary to the then JVP Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and the new entrant to Parliament, based his claim on intelligence services’ assessments. Responding to a query by The Island, Minister Wijepala declared that the government wouldn’t give into human traffickers and various other interested parties, peddling the Rohingya issue, but would conduct a thorough investigation to establish the truth.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on 27 Dec., 2024, took up the Rohingya issue with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The HRCSL found fault with the government for not allowing the HRCSL team to visit the Rohingyas held at the Kepapilavu Air Force camp in Mullaitivu. The HRCSL made its highly publicized intervention within 24 hours after the Air Force denied entry to its team.

HRCSL Chairman, retired Supreme Court Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya, in his letter dated 27 Dec., 2024, reminded President Dissanayake that, according to section 11(d) of the HRCSL Act, No. 21 of 1996, 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, Dehideniya declared.

Strangely Justice Dehideniya, however, gave a lame excuse last year not to probe serious allegation made by former Speaker Abeywardena about external involvement in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s forced ouster when he said that Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s claim of foreign interventions could be inquired into only if he received a complaint.

The Rohingya issue should receive the NPP government’s priority. The government cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for thwarting organized attempts by human traffickers to use Northern Sri Lanka to receive Rohingyas. Of the 115 rescued off Mullaitivu, the 12-member crew had been remanded by Trincomalee Acting Magistrate, Abdul Saleem, pending further investigations.

The issue at hand is whether the destination of the trawler was Sri Lanka or the vessel, after engine breakdown, and due to inclement weather, simply drifted towards Vellamullivaikkal, the scene of fierce fighting during the last phase of the ground offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Let me stress that this journey is not the first boat to reach Sri Lanka, situated about 1,750km (1,100 miles) across open seas, southwest of Myanmar. In Dec., 2022, the Navy rescued another boat carrying over 100 Rohingyas, during Wickremesinghe’s presidency.

Large groups of Rohingyas had fled Myanmar, over the past years, due to military action, but in the recent past the Myanmar government recruited some Rohingyas to the military. Myanmar turned to Rohingyas to strengthen its Army fighting the ethnic terrorist group, called the Arakan Army, in Rakhine state.

Rohingya issue taken up in Parliament

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem raised the Rohingya issue in Parliament. Attorney-at-Law Hakeem condemned the NPP administration for its response to the latest arrival of Rohingyas.

Lawmaker Hakeem discussed the issue against the backdrop of Myanmar facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, over its treatment of the Rohingyas.

All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) leader Rishad Bathiudeen, SJB MP Mujibur Rahuman, as well as former MP, senior state counsel and ex-Ambassador in Tehran M.M. Zuhair, PC, intervened on behalf of Rohingyas. Lawmakers took up the issue in Parliament. A section of the civil society, too, intervened.

Some found fault with SJB leader Sajith Premadasa for the stand taken up by Hakeem, Bathiudeen and Rahuman as they were elected to Parliament on the SJB ticket.

Referring to the Air Force depriving HRCSL of an opportunity to visit the Rohingyas on 26 Dec., 2024, the Commission brought the incident to President Dissanayake.

Lawmaker Hakeem, in a fiery speech delivered in Parliament, threw his weight behind the HRCSL. Hakeem declared: “The HRCSL has the right to go and inspect any place where there is a report about maltreatment and ill-treatment of individuals. This is not the first time refugees from Myanmar arrived in Sri Lanka. Way back in 2008, 2017 and 2018 such people came here”

The Air Force action is a total violation of the HRCSL Act, the one-time Justice Minister alleged, warning the Air Force could be held in contempt.

The Kandy district lawmaker also referred to the strong statement issued by PC Zuhair in this regard. Hakeem slammed Public Security Minister Wijepala for the government’s stand on the developing issue. He questioned the rationale in the NPP government consulting the Myanmar government responsible for the massive exodus of people.

Alleging that Myanmar relentlessly persecuted the Rohingyas, the SLMC leader declared that hundreds of thousands of people had left the country. Hakeem estimated the number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Malaysia almost at a million and nearly 500,000, respectively. Indonesia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as Western countries, had given them refuge, the ex-Minister said. Hakeem censured Minister Wijepala for calling the Rohingya refugees human traffickers. “How dare you say this? How dare you say this? Do you forget your own members, way back in the ’70s ’80s, when you were persecuted and you took refuge in Italy, in the UK, France, all over, and in Lebanon? How many JVP activists were there as refugees?’

Hakeem was referring to the 1971 and 1987-1990 JVP-led terror campaigns that were ruthlessly suppressed by the SLFP and UNP administrations, respectively.

The SLMCer also found fault with the Public Security Minister and his Deputy Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala for simply acting on the advice of officials without realizing the responsibility on their part to properly function as MPs.

Hakeem demanded that the government act in accordance with international law and UNHCR must be asked to provide the necessary security. “The government is bound under humanitarian law and under UN declaration of human rights, where specific sections have been highlighted.”

The SLMC leader asked the government not to forcefully repatriate the Rohingyas. The right of Hakeem, Bathiudeen, Rahuman and Zuhair to represent the interests of the Rohingyas cannot be disputed.

Eminent lawyer Zuhair pointed out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, in Article 14 states, “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution”. Sri Lanka is a party to this United Nations sponsored international convention. Persecution in Myanmar is well known. Violent persecution of Rohingyas is well documented and established beyond debate.

The ex-Ambassador said that the HRCSL should be allowed to operate in terms of article 14 of the UDHR and related provisions of the applicable treaties. Amidst the continuing controversy over the Rohingya refugees, The Island carried hard-hitting statements issued by Zuhair, Rahuman and Bathiudeen.

SJB’s stance questioned

Political analyst Shenali Waduge blamed the SJB’s stand on the Rohingya issue. Referring to a Rohingya refugee woman delivering a baby boy at Mullaitivu hospital on 21 January, 2025, Ms. Waduge sarcastically said that the SJB could adopt the child.

The prolific writer questioned the SJB pursuing a politically motivated strategy meant to encourage more boat loads of Rohingyas. She warned of dire consequences unless political parties represented in Parliament took a national stand instead of seeking political advantage. The crux of the matter is the possibility of external elements having influence over a political party represented in Parliament or individual lawmakers.

The bottom line is Sri Lanka lacked the wherewithal to engage in such a risky project. In other words, Sri Lanka shouldn’t get entangled in the Rohingya matter. Let the government address this issue in consultation with the Myanmar government and UNHCR.

The Rohingya issue took a different turn when the North-East Coordination Committee spearheaded a protest in Mullaitivu demanding that the refugees shouldn’t be deported. Jesumaney Yartan Figurado, the joint co-ordinator of the grouping, was among the participants. The CID’s Human Trafficking and Maritime Crime Division recorded a statement from Figurado regarding his involvement in the protest.

It would be pertinent to mention that the North-East Coordination Committee campaigns for permanent devolution of power to the North and East. The Committee has repeatedly urged Tamil political parties not to pursue strategies that may undermine their efforts to secure international recognition.

Obviously various interested parties cooperate on movement of refugees across national boundaries. The recent actions taken by US President Donald Trump underscores the importance the new Republican administration attaches to protecting US borders. Over the past several decades, for want of cohesive international cooperation against organized but illegal and lucrative movement of various people gathered momentum with America, Canada and Europe being flooded with uninvited guests.

Australia is one of the countries that has adopted a tough military-led initiative called ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’ launched in 2013 to curb illegals reaching land. In spite of the change of governments, both here and Australia, successive administrations remained fully committed to the high profile operation that facilitated the forceful repatriation of Sri Lankan illegals.

Sri Lanka needs a national policy to address the contentious issue of illegals. Australia has underscored that their policy in this regard is beyond party politics.

Over the past several decades EU countries, the UK, Canada, Scandinavian countries and the US, have accommodated thousands of ex-Sri Lankan terrorists, including those who had received weapons training in India, and in Sri Lanka also by Indian instructors. Foreign governments granted them citizenship on the pretext of them being political refugees.

The possibility of wanted men being among those Rohingyas who had fled to different countries cannot be ruled out.

Let us remind our readers of the case of Antonythasan Jesuthasan, the male star of renowned French filmmaker Jacques Audiard’s Deepan that won the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Jesuthasan, an ex-Sri Lankan terrorist, and most probably still categorized as missing/disappeared from here, is on record as having revealed how he inflicted injury on himself to secure political asylum.

In an interview with Tom Seymour (TS) posted in The Guardian nearly a decade ago, in the wake of Palme d’Or, Jesuthasan, while revealing what TS called a dense lattice of scars, said: “I did those to myself.” Having mimicked running a blade across his skin, Jesuthasan told TS. “I was 22, and I had spent years trying to come to the west. I wanted to get a fake French passport, but I had to be accepted as a refugee. I went to the UNHCR [the UN High Commissioner for Refugees], but they wouldn’t believe my story. So I cut myself, and held up my arm, and said to them: ‘Look at my blood. This is my word.”

Jesuthasan’s story is not different from millions of similar tales. They are all beneficiaries of governments which knowingly accepted fake documents and clandestine operations of illegal traffickers. That is the truth some do not want to accept.

SW’s take on Rohingya

Former Public Security Minister and retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera emphasized the responsibility on the part of the government to counter propaganda meant to compel the country to accept groups of Rohingya. Some people with vested interests questioned the government’s authority to hold a group of Rohingyas in an Air Force camp, the former Navy Chief of Staff pointed out.

Acknowledging that Rohingyas had been brutally treated by the Myanmar military over the years, the former lawmaker emphasized that the violence therein should be examined against the backdrop of attacks on 30 Myanmar military camps in August 2017 carried out by ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army).

Quoting Amnesty International, Weerasekera said that armed Rohingyas carried out attacks on Hindus in August 2017, killing 99 persons over the latter’s refusal to embrace Islam.

The former Minister pointed out that Premier Narendra Modi ordered the deportation of Rohingyas who entered India following the 2021 military coup. Referring to different Asian governments’ response to the Myanmar crisis, Weerasekera urged the government to be extra cautious in addressing this issue.

It would be a great mistake on Sri Lanka’s part if the government failed to reach a consensus on this vexed issue as quickly as possible, the ex-Minister said.

Political parties represented in Parliament hadn’t been able to reach an agreement on major national issues. There cannot be a better example than their failure to agree on the need to defeat terrorism that caused immense death and destruction for three decades.

The executive, legislature and judiciary should work collectively to address major issues that may spiral out of control unless dealt swiftly and decisively. Regardless of party politics and whatever differences among political parties represented in Parliament, MPs couldn’t act regardless of collective responsibility towards the wellbeing of the country.