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I refer to the Malaysiakini report, Burmese protest: Khairy steals the show .

While the efforts of Umno Youth to show solidarity with Burma's pro-democracy protesters and for calling on an end to the violence in Burma are welcomed and applauded, I would like to pose the question to Umno Youth and its deputy chief as to whether they are willing to go the extra mile for the Burmese living in Malaysia.

Numerous Burmese, including women and children, have been arrested in Malaysia for years now. Even those with 'asylum-seeker/refugee' documentation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are not spared from these indiscriminate arrests.

Malaysia's non-signatory to the 1957 UN Refugee Convention, resulting in unratified local immigration laws and other related laws, are used against these Burmese in Malaysia. When detained, they are forced to live in deplorable detention conditions in our local prisons/detention

centres, indefinitely at times.

More worrying is that they risk repatriation to Burma where they face almost a certain possibility of further detention, torture and death. This is a more obvious reality right now, given the current situation in Burma.

Burmese in Malaysia have also on occasion in the past been detained by the police for conducting peaceful protests outside the Burma embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Burmese in Malaysia, and in fact in some other Asean countries, have for long faced with this threat.

Since 1988, many of those from Burma have come to Malaysia to try and secure a safer life away from an oppressive and brutal military regime - as evident with the military's treatment of recent protests by monks and civilians.

A particular concern in Malaysia is the authority given to volunteer police personnel from Rela to arrest 'illegal immigrants'. There have been numerous reports of Rela officers conducting raids on Burmese communities and indiscriminately arresting even those with UNHCR protection papers.

So my question to Umno Youth is: Are you going to embark on a campaign to convince your colleagues in Umno, the Malaysian authorities and the government to accord protection and refugee status - at the very least for the interim - to all Burmese in Malaysia?

I am happy and willing to cooperate with Khairy and Umno Youth, if they haven't yet engaged with the UNHCR, in efforts to secure protection for the Burmese in Malaysia.

The writer is executive director of Asean Inter-Parliamentary Burma Caucus.

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