Rejecting claims for asylum, Malaysia will deport Acehnese
After dithering for a month, Malaysia will deport scores of Acehnese who fled across the Straits of Malacca after the Indonesian government began military action against separatists in Aceh in May.
The Acehnese will be deported in batches, but the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said of the latest Acehnese to be arrested, only 42 out of 232 had agreed to be deported.
'The rest want to apply for asylum,' said UNHCR officer Ruth Evans.
The hardline policy comes a day after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri met for their annual summit in the east Malaysian capital of Kuching on Thursday.
The Malaysian government had earlier considered granting the Acehnese 'temporary stay' after the UNHCR and rights activists lodged strong protests against their arrest and any deportation.
The government says the Acehnese are illegal immigrants but the UNHCR and rights activists argue they are people fleeing war and oppression, and therefore are entitled to shelter and protection under international law.
Last week, Indonesian leaders warned Malaysia against giving refuge to the Acehnese.
After meeting Ms Megawati, Dr Mahathir said: 'We regard them as illegal immigrants. We don't give political asylum to those fleeing Aceh. They will be placed under detention and deported.'
The sudden police action has put the spotlight on Malaysia's conflicting policy toward the Acehnese, a people who have a long history of resistance to colonialism and have deep cultural and historical ties with Malaysia.
A major deportation exercise in 1998 went badly wrong. Several policemen and Acehnese were killed when hundreds were forcibly deported to Aceh in Indonesian ships.
Reports later emerged that some of the deported Acehnese had been jailed and tortured.
More than 2,000 Acehnese have applied for refugee status with the UNHCR since the May 19 military operation began in Aceh.
The Malaysian government says investigations have shown that most of the Acehnese came to Malaysia to look for jobs.
Rights activists say Malaysia has sheltered thousands of displaced people from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Africa and even from Southeast Asia, including about 350,000 Filipino Muslims.
However, officials say there is no legal compulsion to shelter refugees because Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees that grants displaced people rights, protection and shelter and asylum.
Without such compulsion, displaced people face tough immigration laws on arrival.
'These laws don't recognise a refugee status, nor make a distinction between a refugee and a illegal migrant,' said human rights lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad.
'Without that, a refugee is legally an undocumented immigrant and suffers harsh and arbitrary penalties.'
Anyone without a valid entry permit is liable to be fined M$10,000 (HK$20,500) or jailed for five years and whipped six times.
