From the International Herald Tribune
Published: August 6, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Some 150 U.N.-certified Myanmar refugees have been detained during weekend raids on illegal immigrants in Malaysia, a rights group said Monday, as it called for a a halt to the indiscriminate arrest of refugees.
The Myanmar refugees were among 550 immigrants hauled up in separate crackdowns by immigration officials and the volunteer security corps RELA in central Selangor state, said the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization in Malaysia.
Children and pregnant women were among the 150 detained, all of whom were recognized by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, the group’s president, Zafar Ahmad, said in a statement.
He said an increasing number of Myanmar refugees have been detained in raids this year.
“We urge the Malaysian government to immediately stop the crackdown on refugees and give us a chance to live. Every moment we live in fear. We had gone through enough pain and suffering in our life and we had nobody to turn to,” Zafar said.
Malaysia is not a member to a U.N. convention on refugees, and classifies refugees as illegal immigrants who can be detained and deported. However, the government lets the UNHCR operate in the country.
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Khairi Mohamad Alwee, RELA director in Selangor, confirmed the raids but couldn’t say whether Myanmar refugees were among those detained. All of them have been handed over to the immigration department, which will decide whether to release or deport them, he said.
Immigration officials could not be reached for comments.
Yante Ismail, a UNHCR spokeswoman, said the agency is trying to verify the number of Myanmar refugees being detained but could not give further details.
Some 36,000 mostly Myanmar refugees, who are registered with the UNHCR, are currently living in Malaysia, according to the U.N. agency. This included 12,000 ethnic Rohingyas from Myanmar, it said.
The UNHCR earlier this year voiced concerns over the arrests of asylum-seekers and refugees, in particular women and children, saying it marked a “departure from normal practice” and has urged Malaysia to uphold its humanitarian commitment to refugees.
