Malaysia begins repatriation of about 1,500 Myanmar citizens — Dawn

On September 29, Malaysia began returning about 1,500 Myanmar citizens from immigration detention centres to Myanmar. This is the first group under a plan concerning 5,000 people, which the authorities in Kuala Lumpur describe as voluntary repatriation, Dawn reports.

AFP journalists saw dozens of buses under police escort arriving at the Manjung District Council Stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia. The people were to be processed there before being taken to the base and sent by sea to Myanmar.

An unnamed source in Myanmar’s security structures said that the vessels are expected to arrive at the Thanlyin naval base, located south of Yangon, at the end of the week. Maritime traffic monitoring services detected Myanmar’s auxiliary and hospital ship Than Lwin near the base.

Human rights advocates’ concerns

Human rights organizations warn that difficult conditions in detention centres may have influenced people’s decision to agree to return. They also stress the dangers facing repatriates in Myanmar, where war has continued since 2021.

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The authorities of Malaysia and Myanmar have not officially specified how many members of the Rohingya Muslim minority were included in the first group. Human rights advocates fear they may be returned to a country where this minority faces persecution that they characterize as genocide.

Plan to return 5,000 people

According to the UN, Rohingya make up two-thirds of the 190,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar in Malaysia. In July, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that Myanmar had agreed to accept 5,000 Rohingya.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs said last month that 5,000 people would undergo voluntary repatriation in coordination with Myanmar’s authorities. As of mid-August, 10,388 Myanmar citizens were being held in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres, and not all of them are considered refugees. More than 160 civil society organizations last week called on the Malaysian authorities to immediately halt deportations pending consultations on the situation in Myanmar.