Rohingya refugees (Pic from JapanTimes)
A civil society organisation has called for authorities to rescue, not reject, Rohingya refugees who arrive on Malaysian shores.
Lawyers for Liberty in a statement said the government should not act hastily, but instead keep borders open to help rescue the stranded refugees.
“(The government must) help rescue those stranded until more information can be ascertained as to why these people left Myanmar and Bangladesh, including whether they are refugees who are entitled to international protection,” LFL executive director Eric Paulsen said.
Paulsen was responding to news yesterday that more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis had arrived on the shores of Langkawi in boats, and are now being detained at a temporary immigration centre there.
Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar reportedly said that the 1,058 people were ‘illegal immigrants’, even if they come from countries in conflict, and that Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ Refugee Convention.
Various news agencies reported also that the refugees had been turned away by Indonesian authorities, who then sent them on their way to Malaysia.
Earlier today, the Associated Press quoted senior maritime officer Tan Kok Kwee as saying that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will turn away boats containing refugees.
However, Paulsen said that to turn away refugees is as good as signing their death warrants.
Eric Paulsen (Pic from Free Malaysia Today)
“We are further shocked to learn that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency had said that it would turn away “seaworthy” boats carrying these people when clearly such an act would be extremely dangerous and irresponsible, and certainly in breach of international law.
“These boats carrying overcrowded refugees and migrants are typically rickety wooden trawlers and hardly seaworthy. Turning or towing these boats away is as good as signing their death warrant as the occupants are normally starving, dehydrated, sickly and in dire need of immediate assistance,” he said.
The Rohingya Muslims are considered one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, where for decades they suffer from discrimination in Buddhist-majority Burma (Myanmar), and have limited access to education and healthcare.
“It is well known the Rohingya are refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Any deportation would be inhumane and cruel as they have been systematically persecuted in their homeland and remain one of the most vulnerable communities in the world,” Paulsen said.
“In order to assess whether these men, women and children are refugees fleeing persecution, our immigration authorities must grant them immediate access to UNHCR so they may seek asylum and have their refugee status determined,” he added.
– The Rocket
