UNHCR wrong to hand over Rohingyas to police, says Suaram
Human rights organisation Suaram today criticised the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for its decision to hand over 18 Burmese Rohingyas to police yesterday.
"The UNHCR has erred in giving the minimum assistance and showed insensitivity in the handling of the issues.
"The UNHCR is now seen as failing to uphold international refugee laws and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 14(1)," said Suaram coordinator Eric Paulsen in a press statement.
The declaration carries a provision stating that every individual has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries.
Yesterday, the Burmese Rohingya group, which include one woman and two children, were arrested by police and sent to the Semenyih illegal immigrants' detention camp eight days after they entered the UNHCR compound to demand for political asylum.
The Rohingyas, who were rejected as asylum seekers by the UNHCR, had claimed that they were victims of ethnic and religious persecution by the Rangoon military government and denied citizenship..
'Short-sighted action'
According to Paulsen, the "short-sighted" action by the UNHCR is bound to fail in stopping similar incidents from occurring again since persecution and discrimination of the Rohingyas are still on-going in Burma.
"As indicated in the past, the Rohingyas will resist all attempts to be repatriated to Burma. The Malaysian authorities will send them to the Thai border and if they are not met with Thai authorities, they will eventually make their way back to Malaysia," he said.
Paulsen added that should the Burmese be handed over to Thai police, they will be brought to the Burmese border.
"This is not a solution but a careless shifting of responsibilities," he stressed.
Paulsen has urged the UNHCR to hold a dialogue with the Malaysian government to improve on its refugee policy. He said the agency should also review its existing policies on the Rohingyas.
Pain and misery
"Unless and until a long term and viable solution which entail a return to democracy and civilian rule in Burma, these forced expulsion exercises by the UNHCR will only cause more pain and misery to the Rohingyas," the Suaram activist added.
In a similar incident last January, 28 Burmese Rohingyas who entered the UNHCR compound were also arrested by Malaysian police and deported to Thailand when they failed in their asylum applications.
Last Friday, the Burmese government claimed the 18 Rohingyas were illegal workers who were only "pretending" to be asylum seekers because they were facing difficulties in finding employment in Malaysia.
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