ROHINGYAN LINKS TO EXTREMIST GROUPS AND PATTERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 001399

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2015
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV BG PTER PINR GTIP BG
SUBJECT: ROHINGYAN LINKS TO EXTREMIST GROUPS AND PATTERNS
OF MIGRATION


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A human rights activist briefed poloff
about Rohingyan refugee connections to Islamic extremist
groups and Rohingyan patterns of human smuggling. END SUMMARY


2. (SBU) Poloff recently met with Chris Lewa, a Belgian who
works for Forum Asia in Bangkok and who has worked on
Rohingyan issues for the past six years. She is a periodic
visitor to Bangladesh and has a network of contacts in and
out of the UNHCR refugee camps who she believes are reliable
observers.


3. (C) Islamic extremist groups continue to operate in
Rohingyan communities in Teknaf under the guise of
humanitarian aid groups, according to Lewa. One such group
is the local Shamanita Monabik Uddog, which, she said, is
connected to the Saudi-based al-Haramein. Lewa claims that
even though the BDG closed down al-Haramein in Bangladesh,
they continue to operate through this group.


4. (SBU) According to Lewa, there are now only two Rohingyan
opposition groups: the moribund Arakan Rohingyan National
Organization (ARNO) and the militatnt Rohingyan Solidarity
Organization (RSO).


5. (C) ARNO has always been viewed as moderate, even though
it had an armed wing, according to Lewa. The leadership of
ARNO has also been weakened by the virtual loss of its
leader, Nurul Islam, to political aslyum in UK and its chief
of staff, who is in and out of jail in Chittagong. Lewa
speculated that recent arms caches reportedly recovered by
the army in Cox's Bazaar area might be the weapons ARNO hid
once their leadership effectively dissolved.


6. (C) Lewa said she knows much less about the RSO but that
if any Rohingyan group had connections to Islamic extremists,
it would be the RSO. She claimed that the RSO has close
contacts with the BDR, and the BDG is using them to wipe out
the ARNO.

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Rohingyan patterns and networks of migration and movement
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7. (SBU) Lewa claimed that Rohingyan migrants have worked in
centers like Mecca and Jeddah since the 1950's, on temporary
work permits, and that there are maybe up to 500,000
Rohingyans working and living there and in the UAE now. Lewa
described the Hajj period as one when Rohingyans take
advantage of the highly-facilitated travel to the Middle
East. During this time, Rohingyans in Bangladesh travel to
Mecca via Chittagong. Also during this time, a significant
number of Rohingyans in Burma illegally come to Bangladesh to
take adavantage of this travel route. According to Lewa, just
one travel agent in Chittagong obtained 400 visas for
Rohingyans to travel to Mecca.


8. (SBU) Lewa also said that many Rohingyans are trafficked
to South Asia; with many arriving in Karachi via India by
road. She estimated around 200,000 Rohingyans live today in
Karachi. It is a known fact among Pakistanis, she said, that
Biharis and Rohingyans are the main agents of human
trafficking in Pakistan. After interviewing 16 women in
Pakistan, she said, most Rohingyans seem to go to Pakistan
for family reunification; however, many women "disappear" en
route, and she estimates up to 60% never make it to their
destintation. She said the only people providing humanitarian
services to Rohingyans in Pakistan are people connected to
Jamaat-e-Islami.
THOMAS