(New York) -- India should undertake a thorough and independent investigation of possible police abuses against Burmese refugees and asylum seekers during demonstrations on November 12-13 in New Delhi, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also ensure that none of the refugees, including those who participated in the demonstrations, are forcibly returned to Burma, where they would likely face persecution.
On November 12, riot police used water cannons, electric batons, and canes to forcibly disperse a group of 500 Burmese nationals, many already recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who were staging a protest outside the UNHCR office. Many had been protesting since October 20 the decision by UNHCR to cut its allowance for refugees in India from 1,400 rupees (U.S. $30) a month by as much as 60 percent in order to cut costs and promote "self reliance."
At least 25 of the demonstrators were injured. Many of the injuries were severe, and included head and chest injuries, bruised backs and legs, and broken bones.
"There was no need for the police to use violence to break up a demonstration," said Brad Adams, executive director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. "It is disturbing that the world's largest democracy would repress people who have already been victimized in their own country."
On November 12, police officers detained several hundred protesters at four different police stations. Most were released that night. Twenty-four protesters were sent to Tihal Central Jail in New Delhi and charged with rioting and obstructing the police.
The New Delhi police commissioner declared a 30-day curfew effective November 12 in order to prohibit any gathering within 200 meters of the UNHCR office. On November 13, after more than 100 protesters gathered again in front of UNHCR, police officers arrested another 20 Burmese and sent them to Tihal Jail. In the days following the arrests, large numbers of protesters have continued to gather near the UNHCR office.
The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms provides that law enforcement officials shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force, and they may do so only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.
Human Rights Watch urged the Indian government to investigate and prosecute or discipline as appropriate any police officer found to have used or authorized excessive force. The government must also ensure that those protestors charged with criminal offenses have access to legal counsel; those not charged should be released.
"India can demonstrate to these refugees that in a democracy the rule of law prevails even for the weakest," said Adams.
Of the 42 demonstrators arrested and charged so far, two have been released on bail. According to UNHCR, 16 of the 44 are recognized by UNHCR as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention, and another 14 have cases that are pending.
UNHCR has recognized approximately 1,000 Burmese in New Delhi as refugees. The majority are ethnic Chin Christians from northwestern Burma, who fled to Mizoram state in India after the unrest in Burma in the mid-1990s. In recent years new refugee flows have been caused by arbitrary detention, torture, forced labor and religious persecution by the Burmese government, as well as ongoing warfare between government forces and the Chin National Army.
