Jammu (AsiaNews /
Agencies) - Police in Jammu and Kashmir have ordered the Rohingya refugees to
leave the city of Jammu, where they had to date found refuge. Citing
"security reasons", the deputy superintendent of Jammu East, SS Sambiyal
said that, "the militants among the Muslim minority originating from
Myanmar could pretend to be refugees" and "pose a threat to internal
security." For
the moment, the agents are evacuating areas of the central station, the
university and the Zoarawar Singh auditorium. Meanwhile,
trying to figure out who has issued the expulsion order: the State authorities,
in fact, say they issued no such communication.
The
police tried to remove the thousands of people who live in the slums of Kalyani
Talab Narwal, on the edge of the city. However,
here the Rohingya live on private land, and pay rent on a regular basis. "Living
here - says Kareem, a refugee - costs
900 rupees a month (about 13 euro)." Despite
the difficult conditions, the members of the community prefer to work instead
of begging: most of them are employed as street vendors or day laborers at the
station.
Following
a case of rape
and murder of a Buddhist since last May tension between the Rohingya Muslim
community and the authorities was rekindled in Myanmar, often resulting in
violent clashes with the Buddhist population. Originating
in the Rakhine State, the Rohingya are at the heart of a still unresolved
ethno-political issue: Yangon does not recognize them as a race, and considers
them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Dhaka, however, refuses to accept
them. And now India is also
driving them away.