TWO refugee groups have called on the Government to stop the slated deportation of 135 Burmese detainees to Myanmar, saying they risk being abused or even murdered by the military junta if they go back.
The Alliance of Chin Refugees and Beyond Borders Malaysia referred to a Facebook post yesterday (Sept 2) by the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur following a meeting it had with the Immigration Department about the 135 detainees soon being deported.
While details about the detainees are scant, the letter states that they were detained after being found in Malaysian waters last year but the deportation was on hold because of restricted movement and travel orders as a result of COVID-19.
Alliance of Chin Refugees representative and former chairman James Bawi Thang Bik told FocusM that the 135 detainees are part of the same group of 1,200 Myanmar nationals that the Government wanted to deport early last year.
After the Government carried out the deportation of 1,086 Myanmar nationals in February 2021 (despite a temporary stay being issued), the High Court disallowed the Government from deporting the remaining 114 detainees until the disposal of the judicial review.
The Alliance of Chin Refugees and Beyond Borders Malaysia said the deportation of the 135 detainees must be stopped immediately as Malaysia is bound by the non-refoulement principle, which prohibits the Government from sending people back to a place where they would likely face persecution.
Under international human rights law, the principle of non-refoulment guarantees that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“Malaysia has an obligation under international law and humanitarian principles to protect the rights of refugees, and we hope it would honour its responsibilities instead of deporting the Myanmarese detainees to face death,” they added in a joint statement today.
“Thousands tortured, imprisoned or dead”
They noted that thousands of Myanmarese have been tortured and imprisoned, and many dead, following a coup in February 2021 that threw out Aung Sung Suu Kyi’s democratically-elected Government.
Despite the intense fighting opposing its dictatorship, the military leadership has extended emergency rule until next year.
Malaysia has since condemned Myanmar for “repeatedly disregarding” calls by ASEAN members for concrete and inclusive dialogue in the interest of reconciliation in Myanmar.
Given the on-ground situation in Myanmar and Malaysia’s vehement condemnation of the violence targeted at ordinary citizens and activists, the planned deportation is “shocking”, said the two refugee-interest groups.
“Our concern holds water as many Myanmarese from the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) have fled their country to seek refuge in Malaysia,” they said. “We have evidence of at least one such person who is currently under detention in the Machap prison (in Johor).
“We, therefore, seek an urgent meeting with Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud to verify the details of the 135 detainees.”
While the identities of the 135 detainees are unknown, the two groups said they are afraid the detainees would be abused or even murdered by the military leadership if deported for being a member of the CDM.
According to news reports, tens of thousands of people have been jailed and many tortured, beaten or killed in Myanmar after its elected Government was overthrown by the military in February 2021.
The international community has imposed sanctions on the military in retaliation for what the UN has branded as “crimes against humanity”.
Short of escalating matters further, Malaysia’s position on the situation in Myanmar has been merely to say that the junta has failed to fulfill the five-point consensus (5PC) to end the country’s turmoil, agreed upon at the ASEAN Leaders Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, in April 2021.
The 5PC are an immediate end to violence in the country; dialogue among all parties; the appointment of a special envoy; humanitarian assistance by ASEAN, and; the special envoy’s visit to Myanmar to meet with all parties. – Sept 3, 2022
Main photo credit: Amnesty International Malaysia
