Malaysia deports 1,086 migrants to Myanmar despite court order

Malaysian immigration chief offered assurances no members of the persecuted Rohingya minority or asylum seekers had been deported
Hours before the repatriation, a Kuala Lumpur court ordered it should be temporarily halted to allow activists to present a legal challenge

Myanmar

Agence France-Presse

Published: 10:40am, 23 Feb 2021

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Malaysia on Tuesday deported over 1,000 Myanmar detainees back to their homeland just weeks after a coup, despite a court order halting the repatriation and a storm of criticism from rights groups.

The migrants were ferried on buses and trucks to a military base on Malaysia’s west coast where three Myanmar navy ships had docked.

The United States and the United Nations had criticised the plan, while rights groups said there were asylum seekers among the group.

An immigration truck carrying Myanmar migrants is seen heading towards the naval base in Lumut, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Hours before the deportation, a Kuala Lumpur court ordered it should be temporarily halted to allow activists to present a legal challenge.

They argued it should not go ahead as Malaysia would breach its international duties if it deported vulnerable people, and that the Myanmar military’s seizure of power meant they were at even greater risk.

But the vessels later set sail carrying 1,086 of the detainees, with authorities offering no explanation as to why the court order had been ignored.

Malaysian immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud offered assurances no members of the persecuted Rohingya minority – not recognised as citizens in Myanmar – or asylum seekers had been deported.

“All of those who have been deported agreed to return of their own free will, without being forced,” he said.

Those deported had been held in immigration detention centres since 2020, he said.

Myanmar’s Gen Z protesters take on junta with inspiration from Hong Kong, Thailand

Authorities earlier said 1,200 detainees were to be deported, and it was not clear why the final number was lower.

Officials insist those sent back had committed offences such as overstaying their visas, and the deportation was part of their regular programme of repatriating migrants from poorer parts of Asia.

But Lilianne Fan, international director of the Geutanyoe Foundation, which works with refugees, said the group included members of the Christian Chin minority and people from the conflict-hit Kachin and Shan states.

03:10

Myanmar anti-coup protesters plan their largest mass rally yet after deadly clash with military

Meanwhile, the US imposed sanctions on two more members of Myanmar’s military junta and threatened further actions over the coup, as Indonesia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday the “wishes of the Myanmar people ” should be respected.

Washington’s move took aim at General Maung Maung Kyaw, the air force commander in chief, and Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun, a former army chief of staff and commander of one of the military’s special operations bureaus which oversee operations from the capital, Naypyidaw.

“We will not hesitate to take further action against those who perpetrate violence and suppress the will of the people,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

A general strike against military rule shut businesses in Myanmar on Monday and huge crowds gathered peacefully despite fears of violence after authorities warned that confrontation could be deadly.

Myanmar coup: a call to stem bloodshed as military’s patience wears thin

“We call on the military and police to cease all attacks on peaceful protesters, immediately release all those unjustly detained, stop attacks on and intimidation of journalists and activists, and restore the democratically elected government,” Blinken said.

Like several military officers named in the first round of US sanctions on Myanmar since the coup, both generals blacklisted on Monday have been appointed as members of the junta’s State Administration Council.

Their designation freezes any US assets they may have and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

Washington’s announcement came hours after the European Union approved sanctions targeting Myanmar’s military and their economic interests.

The ethnic Chinese caught in Myanmar’s political turmoil

“All direct financial support from our development system to the government reform programmes is withheld,” said Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, adding that the bloc would not curb trade ties for fear it could hurt the wider population.

Additional reporting by Reuters