Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals who were sent back from Malaysia arrived in Yangon on Sunday, despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights groups that conditions in Myanmar remain unsafe for return. The returnees are part of a wider plan under which 5,000 Myanmar nationals are to be repatriated from Malaysia in stages.
Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, triggering widespread opposition and pushing large parts of the country into conflict. Rights groups and UN officials have said people sent back could face persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone.
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According to reports in Myanmar state media, the returnees, including 86 women, had been convicted of staying illegally and of other immigration violations in Malaysia. They were transported from Malaysia on two navy warships and a hospital ship last Tuesday, and arrived in southern Yangon early on Sunday, regional government minister Nay Lin Tun said.
Malaysia’s Home Ministry has said 10,388 other Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention centres. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups have criticised the repatriation, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile.
“Under international law, the Government of Malaysia is obligated to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and prevent the return of individuals to situations where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations,” Kelley E. Currie, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement on Thursday. “In my assessment, the risk of refoulement in the present circumstances is substantial.”
It was not clear whether any of the returnees were from the minority Muslim Rohingya community, who face persecution in Myanmar and have been denied citizenship. Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung told The Associated Press that the repatriation involved “genuine citizens”. Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya, one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee communities. However, Malaysia is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military-backed government who was sworn in as president in April, is expected to visit Malaysia this month to discuss refugee and migrant issues. The latest arrivals in Yangon underline the continuing repatriation process even as concerns remain over the safety of those being sent back to Myanmar.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
