Sept 23 (Reuters) – More than 160 civil society organisations released a joint statement on Wednesday urging Malaysia to halt plans to deport Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, citing severe risks of ongoing violence and forced conscription.
• The groups expressed “grave concerns” over Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s proposal to seek Myanmar junta leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing’s cooperation to send back Rohingya, a Muslim-minority community long persecuted in Myanmar.
• Malaysia’s Home Ministry declined to comment, pointing to earlier remarks that the repatriation was voluntary and involved Myanmar nationals.
• Malaysia had around 193,800 refugees from Myanmar – including large numbers of Rohingya – as of February, according to the United Nations and the country says it plans to return 1,500 refugees on September 29 in a first phase.
• Malaysia said Myanmar has agreed to take back 5,000 refugees without specifying if they were Rohingya.
• Anwar has said he plans to invite Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia in return for accepting Rohingya refugees.
• The statement said Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing is the “architect of genocide” against Rohingya for the military crackdown on the community, with the International Criminal Court currently weighing an arrest warrant against him.
• Myanmar, which does not recognize Rohingya as an ethnic group, has previously said its military actions in Rakhine state that drove out large numbers of Rohingya were in response to militant attacks.
• The groups warned that upon returning to Myanmar, Rohingya could face forced conscription into multiple armed groups, including the military, the Arakan Army (AA), and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
• Thousands of persecuted Rohingya flee Myanmar each year, often risking dangerous journeys on rickety boats and overland routes.
• Myanmar’s military is fighting the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group based in Rakhine state — from where large numbers of Rohingya have been driven out — that is seeking greater autonomy for the region.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
