US embassy cable - 05DHAKA1399

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 Terrorism 
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