Several of them are opponents of Myanmar’s coup generals. According to the United Nations, there are about 158,000 Burmese asylum seekers, of which two thirds belong to the Rohingya ethnic group.
Kuala Lumpur () – A new wave of expulsions in Malaysia raises fears for the fate of Burmese refugees who leave Myanmar and seek refuge in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia after long and dangerous journeys by sea. At least 150 asylum seekers have been expelled since the beginning of the month despite international pressure and guarantees from the Malaysian authorities. Among them are several opponents of the military coup that toppled the Burmese civilian government on February 1, 2021 and sparked a brutal civil conflict.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at the end of July there were about 158,500 – out of a total of 185,000 – refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar in Malaysia. Of these, approximately two-thirds are of the Rohingya ethnic group, and the rest belong to different ethnic groups in conflict with the Burmese regime. In many cases they use the land route through Thailand or follow the routes of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who are welcomed in Bangladesh.
Malaysia’s openness to receive the refugees responds to the principle of non-rejection that governs international law, but this is not accompanied by an equivalent commitment to guarantee them a legal status that allows them a safe stay, at least until they are relocated in third countries, which gives rise to different types of abuse, such as dissuasive policies to discourage those who want to come to Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur is the most critical of the 10 ASEAN countries towards the Naypyidaw military junta. However, it is an ambiguous attitude, which is evident with the expulsion of refugees whose belonging to the democratic opposition has been confirmed. They are members of the National League for Democracy, the party of the democratic president Aung San Suu Kyi, and of the Government of National Unity, which coordinates the clandestine armed resistance against the coup and activities in support of internally displaced persons.
There are currently more than a million people who are called internally displaced people (IDP) in international parlance, mostly ethnic minorities fleeing the fighting. In recent weeks the Burmese regime has decided that they will no longer be allowed access to the camps and reception structures. Therefore, the risk of a wave of escapes from the country has become very high although the borders of neighboring countries remain sealed, with rare exceptions on the border with Thailand.
