Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The National Human Rights Commission has received two petitions seeking its intervention to direct the Mizoram government to restrain local groups from violating the basic human rights of the Chins of Myanmar by seeking their forcible eviction.
The Chins had left their country decades ago to escape discrimination and settled in Mizoram. Political groups and youth wings have now given them the ultimatum to go out of the state.
The incident was triggered off following the rape of a local girl allegedly by a person of Chin ethnicity. Though the offender had been arrested, ‘‘the local groups with vested political interests have used the incident to incite people against Chins,’’ petitioner Philip Jadhav said. The other petition on the same issue pending before the NHRC was filed by NGO called Friends of Burma.
Of a total of 72 village councils in the state, 29 have already taken action and all the Chins living there have been forced to move back to Myanmar. Saying that safety of about 50,000 people of Chin ethnicity living in Mizoram is threatened, the petitioner pointed that “the duty of the state as well as Centre to take immediate action.’’
As the petitioners await response of NHRC, they alleged the Chins have fled Myanmar due to ‘‘severe and persistent human rights violations’’ by the state machinery there.
Forcibly evicting them from Mizoram and sending them back to Myanmar would mean exposing them to certain risk of life and liberty, the petitioners said and added ‘‘there is an immediate need to stall the eviction of Chins and to facilitate their access to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for identification and protection’’.
The UNHCR has recognised about 1200 refugees from Myanmar and the Centre has acknowledged their refugee status. They have been issued residential permit based on the UNHCR refugee status, it added.
