KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia began repatriating about 5,000 Myanmar asylum seekers under a deal with junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, with three Myanmar navy ships scheduled to leave carrying the first 1,476 returnees, BBC News reported. Rights groups warned of violence, persecution and forced conscription; Kuala Lumpur called the returns voluntary but barred UNHCR from screening detainees.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said returnees would include Rohingya, a Muslim minority denied citizenship in Myanmar. He cited public hostility and economic strain, saying refugees had become “a security burden, an economic burden and a source of hostility,” a sharp shift from earlier advocacy. More than 200,000 Rohingya are believed to live in Malaysia after waves of flight since 2017.
Critics including former anti-corruption chief Latheefa Koya called the policy “disgraceful.” Nearly all of Rakhine is held by the Arakan Army under air attack — including Monday’s market strike that killed 49 — leaving unclear where returnees can safely go. Rohingya advocate Nur Sadek said people dream of returning when it is safe and chosen, “not because we are forced to.”
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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