Forty-four Acehnese asylum seekers detained outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur last week have expressed their desire to return home.

"We have spoken to all the individuals and were able to verify that they are willing to go home," UNHCR refugee eligibility co-ordinator Evan Ruth said yesterday.

Ruth told malaysiakini when contacted that out of the 242 Acehnese still under detention at camps in Langkap, Semenyih and Machap Umboo, 182 have confirmed that they would like to apply for asylum from the UN agency.

Meanwhile, a recognised refugee was released on Wednesday but two others remain in detention.

"If we cannot (obtain their release), we will then put the persons forward to the country who will be resettling the individuals," said Ruth.

No asylum for combatants

The UN official also commented on Free Aceh Movement (GAM) senior commander Ishak Daud's call on the Malaysian government to protect those persecuted by the Indonesian authorities.

"I would like to make it clear that under international law, people in combat are not entitled to international protection," he said in reaction to Ishak's statement that he was forcibly repatriated from Malaysia in 1998.

"Therefore, they are excluded from UNHCR protection as they do not fall under the categories for asylum," he added.

Explaining further, Ruth said combatants, people who commit war crimes and other serious crimes, including terrorism, are excluded from the right to protection and this is confirmed through a screening process in which UNHCR will cross-check the background of individuals with other agencies.

The same stringent requirements were applied in deciding to deny protection to those individuals who were involved in war crimes in Rwanda, he added.

On Aug 19, the police detained more than 200 Acehnese, including women and children, after mounting roadblocks leading to the UN agency's office. The move drew flak from various quarters.

Malaysian law does not distinguish between illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ruled out the possibility of granting asylum to Acehnese, who are flooding into Malaysia to escape the violence in the Indonesian province.