Malaysia launches first phase of Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar

Malaysia has initiated the repatriation of around 1,500 Myanmar nationals, marking the first phase of a program that has sparked concern from human rights organizations.

This effort to return 5,000 individuals, including potentially many of the Rohingya minority, follows a series of recent detentions and evictions, raising questions about the voluntary nature of the program.

While Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not officially recognize refugee status, Myanmar has promised "safe and dignified" returns for its citizens amid international scrutiny.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced plans to invite Myanmar's leader as part of efforts to facilitate the repatriation process.

LUMUT, Sept 29 — Malaysia began repatriating around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday, launching the first phase of a return programme that has raised concerns from rights groups.

The group is the first of 5,000 Myanmar nationals Malaysia says have agreed to “voluntary” repatriation from detention centres.

Dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia, AFP correspondents saw.

Reporters were not allowed inside the grounds.

The migrants were expected to be processed before being transported to the nearby naval base and taken to Myanmar by ship.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday how many in the group were Rohingya, and Malaysian authorities did not divulge the number.

But the persecuted Muslim minority make up two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in the country, according to the United Nations.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the Rohingya, in a rare repatriation push that has prompted concern from rights groups.

The repatriation plan was announced after authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency’s office in Kuala Lumpur.

The refugees were seeking help after being threatened with eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state.

They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documentation.

Myanmar earlier this month pledged “safe and dignified” returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after criticism from the United Nations and rights groups.

Anwar also said he would invite Myanmar’s coup leader-turned-civilian president Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit to help expedite the repatriation process.

Malaysia, which shelters one of Southeast Asia’s biggest refugee populations, is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status.

AFP fact-checkers have found that Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have been targeted by online disinformation campaigns that rights advocates say are fuelling xenophobia and intimidation.

Many of the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim group, escaped Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017. — AFP

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马来西亚已启动遣返约 1500 名缅甸国民的计划，这标志着该计划的第一阶段正式开始，该计划已引起人权组织的关注。

此次遣返 5000 人（其中可能包括许多罗兴亚少数族裔）的努力，是在最近一系列拘留和驱逐事件之后进行的，这引发了人们对该计划自愿性质的质疑。

尽管马来西亚并非 1951 年《难民公约》的缔约国，也不正式承认难民身份，但在国际社会的密切关注下，缅甸承诺让其公民“安全、有尊严地”返回家园。

马来西亚总理安瓦尔·易卜拉欣宣布计划邀请缅甸领导人回国，以促进缅甸军人遣返进程。

卢穆特，9 月 29 日——马来西亚周二开始遣返约 1500 名缅甸国民，启动了遣返计划的第一阶段，该计划引起了人权组织的关注。

马来西亚方面称，这批5000名缅甸国民已同意从拘留中心“自愿”遣返，而这批人是其中的第一批。

法新社记者看到，数十辆巴士在警察的护送下抵达马来西亚西北部红土坎海军基地附近的 Majlis Perbandaran Manjung 体育场。

记者不允许进入场地。

预计这些移民将先接受登记，然后被运送到附近的海军基地，再由船只送往缅甸。

周二，尚不清楚该群体中有多少人是罗兴亚人，马来西亚当局也没有透露具体人数。

但据联合国统计，在缅甸的 19 万难民和寻求庇护者中，受迫害的穆斯林少数群体占三分之二。

马来西亚总理拿督斯里安华·易卜拉欣于7月宣布，缅甸已同意接收5000名罗兴亚人，这一罕见的遣返行动引起了人权组织的关注。

在当局拘留了聚集在吉隆坡联合国难民署办事处外的 100 多名罗兴亚人之后，遣返计划宣布了。

这些难民在面临被驱逐出槟城州北部非正式定居点的威胁后寻求帮助。

后来，在官员确认他们持有有效的联合国文件后，他们被释放了。

本月初，在联合国和人权组织的批评之后，缅甸承诺让流离失所的公民“安全、有尊严地”返回家园。

安华还表示，他将邀请缅甸政变领导人、现任文职总统敏昂莱进行正式访问，以帮助加快遣返进程。

马来西亚收容了东南亚最大的难民群体之一，但它既不是 1951 年《难民公约》的缔约国，也不正式承认难民身份。

法新社事实核查人员发现，马来西亚的罗兴亚难民成为网络虚假信息宣传活动的目标，人权倡导者称这些活动助长了仇外心理和恐吓行为。

罗兴亚人大多是穆斯林，其中许多人在2017年缅甸军方残酷镇压期间逃离缅甸。——法新社

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