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By Takaloo
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Dhaka: Arakanese exiled in Bangladesh staged a demonstration on Friday in the southeastern sea resort of Cox’s Bazar on the Burmese border as part of a global campaign for the release of 34 freedom fighters being jailed in India.
Nearly 30 activists, including women, held banners and placards that read, “Free Freedom Fighters” and “Don’t Deport”, and demanded the Indian government and UNHCR release the freedom fighters and grant them political asylum in India or a third country.
“Today marks the 13th anniversary of their detention in India. Their trials were already concluded with a fine of 6,000 Rupees levied by the Indian court, but they are still being locked behind bars by the Indian government. We worry that India will deport them back to Burma, where their lives would be in jeopardy. So we are here to demand the Indian government and UNCHR release them and give them political asylum in India or any third country as they are freedom fighters against the Burmese regime,” said Ko Khine Soe, and organizer of the demonstration.
According to their statement, the 34 freedom fighters are members of the National United Party of Arakan and the Karen National Union, both of which are fighting for their ethnic rights and democracy in military-run Burma.
Indian authorities arrested the men in February 1998 after luring them to Indian territory in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on false pretenses. Six of their leaders were shot and killed by Indian forces in cold blood when they arrived at the island.
They have been detained in jails for several years without trials. Their case was finally settled on 12 July, 2010, in the City Sessions Court in Kolkata when they agreed to accept a plea bargain with the Indian spy agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was the main plaintiff in the case.
The judge of the court, Uday Chandra Nag, sentenced the freedom fighters to three years in prison and fines of 6,000 rupees, which is approximately 130 US Dollars, on three charges of entering the country illegally and possession of weapons and explosives.
The 12 years they have already spent in jail have been counted as time served for their sentences and they were remanded to be held in jail until they paid the fines to the court, according to the judgment statement by the court.
However, the Indian government is still reluctant to release them despite that their fines have been paid to the court, and they remain in detention without any further charges.
Ko Kan Myint, another organizer of the demonstration, said that the UNHCR in India has also interviewed the men in their jail for asylum claims so as to prevent them from being deported back to Burma, but their delay in finalizing their status as refugees has raised concerns for the detainees and their compatriots in exile around the world.
“The UNHCR in India has already visited them in jail and interviewed them. But they are still delaying their response to them about their status and that makes us more worried for them. So we fellow compatriots have planned a global campaign for saving them from the danger of being deported back to Burma by the Indian government,” said Kan Myint.
According to the activists, the same demonstrations will be held in the Indian capital New Delhi and in front of the Indian embassies of Japan, Britain, and America as well.
They said that letters of appeal will also be submitted to the Indian government and other international governments, as well as the UNHCR headquarters as part of the campaign, calling for their immediate and safe release.
Source : Narinjara News
Alliance of Arakan Refugees 