UNHCR discussing with Geneva HQ over 18 Rohingyas status

comments     Yap Mun Ching     Published     Updated

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that negotiations were still on-going with its Geneva headquarters to determine the status of the 18 Rohingyas who are seeking asylum.

"It is possible that they may stay over the weekend. We are coordinating with our headquarters in Geneva in terms of their status," said UNHCR Protection Officer Shinji Kubo when contacted.

When asked, Kubo declined to comment on the time frame required for the process but said the agency is assessing the Rohingyas' applications.

On Monday, six men, a woman and two children, forced their way into the UNHCR compound in Kuala Lumpur and requested for asylum and resettlement in a third country.

The next day, another group of nine men entered through a hole in the perimeter fencing of the agency's compound.

Burmese Rohingyas are an ethnically distinct Muslim community originating from the northwestern state of Arakan. A majority of them claim to have fled their country because of ethnic and religious persecution by the military junta.

They have also been denied citizenship by their government.

Meanwhile, Kubo said one of the key concerns of the UNHCR now is that other refugees cannot approach the agency because of the unresolved issue with the 18 Rohingyas.

"This is preventing our day-to-day work with other refugees. Those who have been recognised cannot come to the office for their evaluations so the situation is really worrying," said Kubo referring to the interruption of other application assessments scheduled by the office.

Family released

Asked about the Rohingya family, including four children who were detained by the police on Wednesday outside the UNHCR building, the UN official said they have been released.

In the incident, the six were arrested for not possessing valid documents as they were pleading to enter the refugee agency's compound.

On the zinc fence being erected at one section of the compound, Kubo said the fence was intended to provide the asylum seekers with some privacy.

"They are now exposed (to public view). If they do not want to be seen, they can stay behind the fence. If they want to talk to the media, they are free to walk around the area," he said, adding that the zinc fence had been planned earlier.

The UN official also denied that the two groups of Rohingyas were forced to stay separately.

"They are free to move in the compound. There is a pregnant woman with the first group so we decided not to mix them all (to stay) in one room," said Kubo.

Pretending

Yesterday, a Burmese Junta spokesperson Col Hla Min claimed that the Rohingyas were "pretending" to seek asylum in order to get into Malaysia.

International news agency AFP quoted the military leader as saying that the 18 who are seeking asylum had illegally entered Thailand and later Malaysia in search of work.

Hla Min said they have decided to seek asylum now because they find it difficult to seek employment since Burma is also sending workers to Malaysia through official channels.

This is the second attempt this year by Burmese Rohingya immigrants to gain asylum by entering the UNHCR compound.

In January, a group of 28 Rohingyas invaded the UNHCR grounds but upon failing to qualify as the agency's mandate refugees, they were handed over to the authorities and were subsequently deported to Thailand.



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