Dear friends
Please see the news reports below of poor Bangadeshis and Burmese (most of the
Burmese must be Rohingya indigenous people from  the Arakan province in Burma
(Myanmar) living in Bangladesh as refugees. The normal process for the GOI to do
would be to charge them under FR Act and throw them in jail or hand them over to
the concerned embassies. In the case of Burmese this (handing over to the
embassy) means certain death at the hands of the military  junta.
Now could someone in this group help by finding out more about the fate of these
unfortunate people? Where have they been kept? How is their health condition?
What course of action would the GOI take etc. Could someone give contacts of
sympathetic Govt officials, journalists who can provide more information?
The best course of action one could advocate and hope for is that the UNHCR be
allowed to access these people and arrange their acceptance by the country of
their choice.
Best,
Ravi Hemadri
Executive Director
The Other Media
B-5/136 (F.F.)
Safdarjung Enclave
New Delhi - 110 029
Tel: 91-11-26195534/35/ 26105472
Fax: 91-11-26195536
 
 
Coast Guard rescues illegal migrants








Port Blair: In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian Coast Guard on Sunday rescued
99 nationals from Bangladesh and Myanmar who remained adrift on the Indian Ocean
for 12 days after the boats carrying them illegally to Thailand were intercepted
by Thai Navy. The migrants from among a group of 412 were rescued off the Little
Andamans after a Bangladeshi swam ashore from the distressed boat and alerted
the authorities, a senior Coast Guard official said on Sunday.
The fate of the remaining 312 persons was not known immediately. The Coast Guard
swung into action after the Andaman police informed them that the Bangladeshi,
who swam ashore at Hut Bay from a non-mechanised boat on December 26, told them
that over 400 others were on board, Inspector-General of Coast Guards Commander
S.P. Sharma told PTI here.
Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/29/stories/2008122956910100.htm
Coast Guard rescues illegal migrants from sea
NDTV Correspondent
Sunday, December 28, 2008, (Andaman)
 

The Indian coast guard has rescued 100 illegal Bangladeshi and Myanmarese
migrants who were cast into the sea by the Thai navy on boats without engines 12
days ago.

The Adanam and Nicober Police found a Bangaldeshi national in the Hutsbay area
on Friday. Since then, in a 36-hour operation, the Indian Coast Guard has
rescued one hundred people, but many more are missing and feared dead. (Watch)


According to the coast guard, 412 Bangladeshis and Myanmarese migrants left in 6
mechanized boats for Malaysia around 33 days ago. They were intercepted by the
Thai Navy and detained for about a week by the Thai forces. After that they were
transferred to a boat without an engine and released in the high seas off
Thailand Coast.

The boat remained adrift for around 12 days. On the night of 25th of December,
the men on the boat saw some lights. Around 300 of them reportedly jumped into
the sea hoping to swim across to shore. A 100 were finally rescued by the coast
guard, when the boat was discovered near Andaman.
Source:
http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080078044&ch=633661001\
983923750
 
Indian Coast Guard Rescues 102 Illegal Migrants Off Andaman and Nicobar Islands
 
Indian Coast Guard on December 27, rescued 102 Bangladesh and Myanmar nationals
off Andaman and Nicobar islands who were adrift for 12 to 15 days. It is
reported that around 412 Bangladeshi and Myanmar nationals had left for Malaysia
few weeks ago. According to survivors, they were intercepted and chased away by
the Thailand Navy.
Coast Guard ships ‘Varad’ and ‘Bhikaji Cama’ took part in the rescue
operations.The fate of remaining 310 people is not known and search is going on
to trace them.
The Regional Headquarters of Coast Guard, Andaman & Nicobar Region is located at
Port Blair. Presently the Region is commanded by Inspector General  SP Sharma,
PTM, TM. The Coast Guard has a force level of one OPV, two FPVs, three IPVs, two
Dornier aircraft and two Chetak helicopters in this region.
Source:
http://www.marinebuzz.com/2008/12/29/indian-coast-guard-rescues-102-illegal-migr\
ants-off-andaman-and-nicobar-islands/





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