Conflicts and Refugees in South Asia : Emerging Newer Dynamics in International

Relations 

Prof Mahendra P Lama Vice Chancellor Sikkim University (A National University established by an Act of Parliament) Gangtok, Sikkim, India E Mail : mahendra_lama1961@yahoo.co.in Website : www.sikkimuniversity.in

11-12 February 2009

Refugees in South AsiaCountry Nos. ’ 000 Principal

Places of Origin----------------------------------------------------

Bangladesh 22.17 Myanmar (100 %)

India 169.54 Tibet (34.4%)

Sri Lanka (36.9 %) Myanmar (11%)

Afghanistan (8%)

Nepal 130.94 Bhutan (84%) Tibet (16%)

Pakistan 2198.8 Afghanistan (100%)------------------------------------------------------

World 12.029 Million% of 20.94

South Asia (2.52 Million)------------------------------------------------------

Success Stories In South Asia

** Tibetans in India and Nepal :150,000 Quietly and tightly integrated into these societies

** East Pakistanis (Bangladeshis) in India10 million refugees came

to Eastern and North Eastern India on the eve of Liberation War in Bangladesh.

** Afghan Refugees In PakistanSuccessful management and repatriation continues

More recently : Chakmas successfully repatriated to Bangladesh

from India : : Peace Accord of 1997.

None of them have ratified 1951 UN Conventions and 1967 Protocol on Refugees

I Why these EXODUS : most fundamental question ?Constitute citizens from across the board.

Causes widely vary : Conflict and Violence key features

(1) Political independence (2) Human rights violation : social discrimination & de-citizening

(3) Economic alienation : poverty, forced land colonisation and landlessness

(4) Religious persecution, cultural discrimination and population transfer

(5) Environmental dislocation : high dam projects,

deforestation, desertification and natural disasters.

(6) Cross border aid and abetment

(7) Interventions by extra regional powers : strategic goals & political constituency

Factors that sustain conflicts Complex and Diverse :

Retributive spirit against the heavy clamp down by the state authorities

Mobilization of newer generation of fighters, Diaspora support

Engagements of terrorist groups in commercial ventures

International nexus and coalition of terrorist groups Tactics and fear and persecution.

Conflicts have undergone large scale transformation

More fierce and more recurrent.

"Destructured conflicts" or "low intensity wars"

Have killed more people than by the conflicts created by geo-political rivalry.

Sri Lanka

Clashes between the majority and the minority 74 % Sinhalese

and 12.6 % Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri LankaAnd Prolonged complaints of systematic deprivations

# Secessionist movement :

LTTE for Independent Homeland for Tamils of Sri Lanka

# Large-scale killings by the terrorist force like LTTE

Exodus of Sri Lankan Tamils to South Indian State of Tamil Nadu

Myanmar

Excessive unpaid Community Labour and dismal food security :

# Army actions : “Operation Nag Min” by Myanmarese army # Armed clashes between State Law and Order

Reconstruction Council (SLORC) and Arakanese Rohingya Islamic Front in Myanmar;

Exodus of Rohingyas from Rakhine areas of Myanmar to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Cry for development autonomy since British period

by Chakmas in CHT region

•Displacement by development projects : •Kaptai Dam Project (1957-62)

# Demographic alterations : Conscious attempt by Govt. to make them a Buddhist minority in CHT :

Incentives to Bengali Muslims from plains to settle in CHT Deployed military to enforce this.

Result : Demographic composition sharp change

1951 Hill people 90.9 % -- Bengalis 9.1 % 1991 Hill People 51.5 % -- Bengalis 48 %

Bhutan

Dilution of ethnic identity

# Search for Democratic space in Bhutan by Lhotsampas

Constituted 50 percent of the population. Imposition of cultural values,

practices and code of conduct : Zonkha language, Kho and Kira dresses.

Instruments : Citizenship Act 1985 and Population Census of 1988.

State Repressions led to large scale exodus in 1989-93 to Nepal

AfghanistanHeightened Cold-War and foreign invasion :

Soviet intervention in Afghanistan 1979 and resulting prolonged civil strifes

Bombing and fighting, fear for life and obstruction on livelihood :

Arming of rebel groups like the Mujahiddin and Talibans

Huge Exodus of Afghans to Pakistan and Iran

SO REFUGEES ARE A “PRODUCT OF EVERY CRISIS”

They are in various camps :

Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar area in Bangladesh,

Jhapa in Eastern Nepal

Peshawar, Chitral and Quetta in Pakistan;

Tamil Nadu , Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura , Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka in India

Surprisingly

India does not produce refugees of Mass exodus variety. Trickle variety : also not very noticeable.

Very construction and nature of border

Entire South Asia region is India centric

Large Scale Internal Displacement

Religious discrimination, killings, lootings, extortions, open call for social ostracisations and

physical expulsions :

‘Internal refugees’Kashmiri Pandits in Kashmir valley of J &K

4,00,000 Kashmiri Pandits (95 per cent of their original population)

have left Kashmir valley since 1990 .

Live in abysmal conditions in Jammu , Delhi and Mumbai

Similar emerging situations :

North East region of India (Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Assam )

Left extremism and Maoist violence Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh

Cost of Refugees to Host Countries

I Tamil Refugee induced Indian action in Sri Lanka “IPKF Operation” of 1987-1990 was not only utter failure

Now considered as a major diplomatic misadventure. Only strengthened LTTE.

Major fall out : dastardly killing of Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu

Allegedly by the LTTE in May 1991 on home ground of Tamil refugees

II Massive Deforestation in NepalNepal : highest deforestation rate of 4 % in South Asia.

Large scale intrusion into forest areas for both fuel and timber purpose. Protest and

clashes with the locals and authorities.

III Bangladesh : many Rohingya refugees resisting repatriation .

They have joined right wing political groups Serious law and order situation : Nayapara and Kutupalong camps.

IV Staggering Cost of managing refugees. UNHCR alone has spent over $ 1 billion : Pak. Programme.

Vital fall out : sharp rise : drug addicts in Pakistan People involved : narcotics trade- Sharp increase

UN Drug Control Program Report : 50 percent of the World supply

80 percent of European supply of heroin from Afghanistan

with a street value of $30-40 billion.

More serious : Nexus between Politicians and Drug barons

Afghans came along 3 million heads of livestock exhausted the grazing land in NWFP and Baluchistan

Pakistan infested with open arms bazar. Afghan refugees injected “Kalashnikov Culture”Worst : Afghan Mujahiddins- LTTE link spread

their pernicious designs in Kashmir with Harka-tul-Ansar, Nagaland with NSCN

and Assam with ULFA

Kashmir (1988-97 recovery): 19000 AK-47 rifles, 5,500 anti-tank missiles, 29000 hand grenades.

VII The Plights of Returnees : Afghanistan :

Ultra conservative interpretation of Islam : Harsh regulations imposed

by Taliban particularly on Women: Edicts :

No education for girlsNo employment for womenNo music, no kite flying,

Compulsory visits of Mosques on Friday

@ Harsh working conditions for UN Agencies and other

humanitarian organisations : Even detained European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs.

@ It has the largest collection of land mines (over fifty varieties)

ICRC reported grazing land accounted for 75.6 % and agriculture land 20.2 %

of mine areas. So resettlement is a Herculean task

Myanmar :

•Integration programmes under UNHCR with UNICEF, WFP, WHO and NGOs on skill development,

health care, education, rural infrastructure & food for work.

Insecure : most of them not given citizenship by state.

So no entitlement to lands which they previously owned.

Bangladesh : Hill Watch Human Rights Forum (HWHRF)

Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord December 1997 :

all refugees returned.Little improvement of the human rights situation in CHT.

Key provisions not implemented.

Only 29 camps out of about 500 military camps in CHTs withdrawn since December 1997.

Army continues to commit human rights violations against indigenous Jumma people.

No Real pressure on Bhutan Re-examine refugee report: US

“ US government : concerned about absence of guarantees provided to

Bhutanese refugees returning to their homeland”.

Bringing people from the North and settling them down in the South & East

in places earlier owned by refugees.

UNHCR is facilitating the third countrySettlement of an overwhelming majority

of refugeesMaoist party launched in Bhutan :

Situation Today in South Asia

Strong Protest andUpheavals

Whenever host has felt intrusion into its indigenousness

Hidden losers concept fast catching up

Compassion Fatigue

Aid Fatigue

Situation at the Global Level

Withdrawal Syndrome

Clear cases : UNHCR and donor agencies : withdrawing humanitarian support

to various refugee situations.

Afghan refugees : literally dismantling camps And asking the refugees to live

Bhutanese refugees :

Emphasis on : Local Integration and

third country settlement

There is a pattern

Developing countries are talking about : millions

Developed countries are mentioning aboutTaking few hundreds refugees

Securitisation and harmonization of refugee policy

How do we create a global community When there is total rejection

Withdrawal from even human assistance

They construct a ‘global apartheid’.

1995 : 30,000 refugees accepted by developed countries as part of global resettlement

Resettlement: narrow prism of protection Broader Perspective should be :

international burden sharing

Closing Down the Gates :

widespread automatic detention of asylum seekers,

denial of social assistance

restriction on access to employment practice of restrictive and disowning asylum policy

■ Restrictive visa policies and carrier sanctions

■ Demarcation of international zones in airports ■ Safety Zones within countries of conflict

■ Narrow interpretation of principle of non-refoulement

■ Safe third country concept ■ Offshore Camps : rights free zone :

Guantanamo Bay was used by the US to hold Cuban and Haitan refugees

■ Internal Flight alternatives (IFA) ■ Regional conventions and Treaty

to restrict them collectively

The debate is about the Movement of Natural persons under

World Trade Organisation : legal migration

Where is the debate about the forced migration and responsibilities of

world community at large and Developed countries in particular ?

Crucial Issue Non-accession to International Refugee Instruments

Varying reasons : varies from politico-bureaucratic sensi tivities

towards UN intervention,

perception of Convention being abused and disregarded

by developed nations for their political ends

to question of ability to meet various obligations due to economic constraints and also the perception

That these instruments being product of cold war.

Prefer dealing with refugee issues bilaterally.

Widely prevalent perception states which have signed Convention :are seen to be derogating from those

provisions whenever it suits their interests.

Absence of permanent institutional structure to oversee issues of refugees,

grant of refugee status has been at discretion of politi cal authorities.

Rejected refugees on narrow political grounds.

Reduced status of fleeing humanities to political arbitrariness.

Present situation calls for evolving a clear legal framework for refugee management in South Asia.

Pakistan gives refugee status only to Afghans.

By not signing they are rejecting refugees in narrow political grounds say

Tamils are taken as refugees depending upon which party is there in power in Tamil Nadu.

Bhutan : India being first country of refuge Did not accept

Violation of principle of non-refoulement,

Refugees were purely a local issue.

No constitutional provisions, so Govts deal with refugees on an ad hoc basis

Refugees have been used as pawns in regional geo-politics

- But, if India signs, probably others will follow suit

Absence of a formal legal structure, Courts particularly Supreme Court and

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have played

proactive and constructive roles

Regional level : SAARC can play an instrumental role :

formulating a regional convention on refugee management.

Like Organisation of African Unity (1969) and

Cartegana Declaration (1984),

SAARC already has four conventions viz.,

Food Security Reserve (1987), Suppression of Terrorism (1987)

Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (1993).

Trafficking of Women and Children

Lessons to be learnt

I Twenty years of fierce civil war and violence a new generation of people has emerged

with very little education, strong weapons training and

no memory of life in a peaceful State Distinct failure of State

Irreversible process of social disintegration

Recent : US led retaliation in Afghanistan This time its not Soviet Union

US is fighting its own covert or overt creation Challenge is complex and Goal not clearly defined Impact on hapless refugees : dangerously poised :Between human miseries and blatant violations

of even simple human rights and total disintegration of tribalism

Afghanistan : Handling and interventions on

refugee situation demands comprehensive policy and neutral stands.

Politico-military goals should be marginalised.

Unlike last two decades where Refugees were made

i) instrument of politics, ii) cause for arms supply and

iii) vehicles of drugs trafficking and iv) used as resistance group,

This time it requires a long term thinking and prolonged reconstruction

effort in Afghanistan.

Failure to do so will only generate a fresh set of alliances and alignments against “partnership of retaliation”.

This will be more vicious and spiteful than last round.

II Foremost : unbiased understanding and objective assessment

of a refugee situation.

A total management of refugees : implies political management

to ensure repatriation and resettlement. One cannot leave entire process

of refugee generation, management and resolution half way through.

This is most shattering lesson we have to learn.

III Politicization of refugees in camp sites are very deleterious

Once politicised, process of depoliticisation is almost impossible

Enormous violent resistance from within and outside camps.

Politicisation attempt fragmentation of refugee population Leads to weakening of community

living and collective voice. Country of origin takes full

manipulative advantage and political mileage E.g Lhotsampas refugees from Bhutan.

IV If refugees : forced to remain in camps for a prolonged period of time With suffocating conditions

e.g. restrictions on physical movements

Young generation that grow up new generation that emerge in refugee camps

become a direct victim of protracted human rights violations.

Process of isolation, limited social contacts and

total delinking from their roots

make them vulnerable to any alternative option where they can get more open space.

Invariably, options available or provided are anti-state and violent.

Refugee community and their helplessness come into direct clash with forces

that they think are responsible for their plights.

V International mobilization of resources both physical and financial

for management of refugees should be done

Severe burden on host country

Needs to be looked into from all perspectives

Particularly when host country has never managed refugee influx of such a huge magnitude

and diverse variety.

Actually sheer sense of physical burden and a feeling of intrusion that ultimately weigh

against continuous hosting of refugees

Even on pure humanitarian grounds.

Pakistan remained one of most generous hosts Have literally closed its gate in last couple of years.

Besides security implications, primary reason for such

an action was again both ‘compassion’ and ‘aid’ fatigues.

VI South Asia : invariably State or extra-territorial forces/agencies

Create situations triggering massive exodus of people

Afghanistan : Surviving super power US also quit refugee camps as soon as its ‘national interest’ was met.

This action fully exposed facade of :“strategic interest”,

“genuine concerns for Afghan people” “reconstruction of Afghanistan” ,

“repatriation and rehabilitation of refugees”

Had it not been ghastly event of 11 September, US would have possibly permanently disengaged itself

from Afghanistan.

VII Larger question that arise again is responsibility and accountability of super power (s)

in terms of :

first creating a situation of humanitarian concern and management and resettlement of affected mass.

Where is implementation of international norm that check such “unilateral attitude”

and “devastating action” all in name of pursuing goal of national interest ?

Where is that international body and agency that could book

countries that are responsible for generation of a millions of refugee ?

Unless we find answer to these questions,

South Asia will continue to be host of millions of refugees as compared to “chosen few thousands”

in West and North.

Mere ratification of 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol by West and North could hardly ensure

their responsibility and accountability.

This has only made all encompassing international norms a matter of convenience to a large

extent a super power led farce.

Globalisation ImplicationsReforms , Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation :

key words today : Emphasise about increasing demolitions

of borders and barriers.

Whereas National security considerations and other

non-traditional compulsions terrorism, migration, trafficking of drugs,

arms and women and girl children, environmental degradations

demand increasing border regulations and closing down of borders.

India and Nepal : traditionally an open border regime,

First time : increasingly regulated because of movement of Maoists forces

and elements of terrorism.

This is likely to be the case with India- Bhutan border

Likely increase in clashes between forces of globalization

and the countervailing State forces

Expectation : Globalisation will lead to higher economic growth

and reduce poverty and mitigate human miseries It is not happening

Number of people below poverty line have sharply increased

Inequality of income has further widened. Poverty clusters :

distinct spatial and demographic identity clashes and conflicts are inevitable.

Major pockets of conflicts emerging

3 Maoists movement in Nepal : Large scale movement of people to India

and other countries

4 Bangladesh : State vs State Bangladesh : Migrants

serious clashes in Assam inter-state conflicts

Three Layers of Conflicts state vs state conflicts

state vs group conflicts

group vs group conflicts

Many other regions of the World Similar Situations

Governments lack administrative, military, legal, institutional,

or political capacity to

Handle the situations

How prepared is the global community ?

How committed is the global governance system ?

Thank You