Fire Destroys Burmese Refugee Homes, Thai Military Post

Mae La Oon refugee camp in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province, pictured in 2012. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A large fire broke out in a Burmese refugee camp in northern Thailand on Monday, destroying about two dozen homes and community buildings as well as parts of a nearby Thai military base.

The fire occurred in Mae La Oon refugee camp in northwestern Thailand’s Mae Hong Son Province at around 4 p.m. The bamboo and wood structures lost in the blaze were located in Section 8, near the camp’s entrance.

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The flames also spread to the temporary homes built for Thai soldiers who are stationed outside the camp for security.

Saw Tu Tu, the head of Karen Refugee Committee’s branch office in Mae Sariang Town, Mae Hong Son Province, told The Irrawaddy that the cause of the fire was accidental—the result of a cooking mishap in a refugee household.

“[A local woman] was resting outside the house and burning firewood fell to the floor,” he said.

Saw Tu Tu said more than 20 residences were lost in the fire, including a food and supplies office and a local outpost of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); around ten structures were lost at the Thai military post.

Mae La Oon is one of nine refugee camps on the Thai-Burma border and it hosts an estimated 12,000 refugees who have fled civil war in Burma. It has 13 sections in total—12 of which were not affected by this incident.

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After the fire was contained, local Thai authorities—including soldiers—visited the site and reportedly distributed food and water to the affected residents. They urged camp residents to be aware of the causes and risks of fires during the dry summer season due to heat and wildfire from the surrounding forest.

Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that 30-40 homes had been razed by the fire, according to Saw Tu Tu. The head of Karen Refugee Committee’s branch office in Mae Sariang town actually put the number at 23-24.

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Gov't has no plans to set up refugee registration centre - Shahidan

SHAHIDAN: The government has also urged parties to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to take in the refugees in line with their commitment as member States. - Filepic

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat was told today that the government has no plans to set up a refugee registration centre as it fears the move would encourage more refugees and asylum seekers to enter the country.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim said the government had in fact requested the UNHCR to expedite the repatriation process of refugees here to their respective or third country.

"The government has also urged parties to the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees to take in the refugees in line with their commitment as member States," he said.

He was responding to Datuk Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) who wanted to know about the steps taken by the government in resolving the refugee problem in the country and follow-ups to ease the UNHCR's burden in the issue.

Liang had also asked whether the government planned to set up its own refugee registration centre without having to depend on international agencies.

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Shahidan said Malaysia could no longer afford to accept refugees and asylum seekers who had contributed to social problems and threatened public order and national security.

To Liang's suggestion that fake UNHCR cards were easily obtainable as exposed by a newspaper recently, Shahidan who is also Arau member of Parliament admitted there could possibly be a syndicate responsible in issuing and selling them on the black market.

He could not be sure of the rampancy and said he was leaving it to the police to investigate.

To a question from Tan Kok Wai (DAP-Cheras), he said the number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country that had registered with the UNHCR office as at Feb 29, was 158,516.

He said 144,388 or the majority comprised Myanmar nationals while the rest were from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria and Yaman.

He said Malaysia being a non member of the refugee convention and protocol has no obligation to provide asylum to illegal immigrants, while it is the prerogative of the UNHCR to accord refugee status to any illegal immigrant.

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Recognise all refugees

Some 3,000 Syrians will get special treatment when they arrive in Malaysia, so how about extending that approach to refugees here?

I FIRST became interested in the plight of refugees in Malaysia about three years ago when I visited a learning centre run by a group of Myanmar refugees in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur. Operating from a cramped shophouse, they cater for several hundred students.

I met a few of their teachers. They were volunteers and none of them are qualified teachers. But they all share the passion to help the refugee kids get education. They teach at the learning centre because our Government does not allow refugee children to attend public schools.

That encounter led me to meet with more people who are just as passionate in wanting to help refugee kids get education. I soon discovered that the learning centres in the Pudu area provide mostly primary level education. Not many cater for those who have reached secondary school age.

And that led me into many more meetings to discuss the establishment of Ideas Academy, a charitable learning centre catering for refugee youths aged 12 to 17. Ideas Academy now has 66 students, all very eager to secure a better future for themselves.

I am still navigating through the bureaucracies to obtain a proper legal status for our charity learning centre. The Government officers I met thus far have been very helpful and generous with advice. Clearly they, too, want to help.

I was elated when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced in his speech at the recent United Nations General Assembly that Malaysia will take in 3,000 refugees from Syria. This is a positive step to assist those who need our help.

Najib’s speech was particularly heart-warming. He was reported to say that over the years Malaysia has taken “many people fleeing war, starvation and persecution”. Najib went on to say that Malaysia currently has “hundreds of thousands of irregular migrants, and we took in more earlier this year when there was a dire humanitarian situation in the Andaman Sea”.

The Prime Minister also called for the world to “respect our common humanity” because according to him “it is only when we transcend the silos of race and faith, only when we look at images of desperate migrants, the victims of extremists, and those whose lives are degraded by hunger and poverty – and see not strangers, but our brothers and sisters, that we will act as our better selves”.

Following that speech, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that Malaysia will provide the incoming Syrian refugees with shelter, education opportunities and temporary jobs. The Home Ministry will also issue special identity cards for them, whereas we have never had that kind of suggestion for those refugees already here.

These are all very good announcements. The Syrian refugees will get special treatment when they arrive in Malaysia. And I am very pleased with this.

Yet I am also very confused. I am confused by the discrimination inherent in all these announcements. Superficially, it feels like our Government wants to create different categories even among the refugees.

The website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that as of the end of September 2015, there are 153,850 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia. Of these, 142,630 are from Myanmar. And there are some 33,740 children below the age of 18. Less than 40% of those who are of school age have access to formal education.

I have also been told repeatedly that these refugees live in squalid conditions, with several families sharing overcrowded flats or low-cost houses. I understand that it is almost impossible for them to obtain employment legally.

If they do get a job, it is likely to be in areas described as 3D – dirty, dangerous and difficult. Many also fall prey to the underworld and criminal gangs.

They do not have any identity cards issued to them by our Government. In fact, recently in August our Government even warned the UNHCR to stop issuing refugee cards to the refugees without the consent of the Malaysian Government, threatening the agency with police investigation.

Why is there a double standard? We have hundreds of thousand of refugees who are already here, mainly from our neighbour Myanmar. Yet we focus on those who are not yet here.

We do not allow them to get a job, let alone care about how they will pay for their daily food. We stop their children from getting education. Our current policies seem to be intentionally designed to ensure they live difficult lives.

But then we took the podium in New York to tell the world that we are a proudly humane country because we will bring in 3,000 new refugees, and treat them distinctly differently from those who are already here.

I struggle to understand the logic used by those who displayed these incoherent attitudes.

However, rather than twisting our brains to understand the flawed logic, allow me to make a practical proposal to move forward.

Since we have now found our conscience, how about if all the provisions announced for the Syrian refugees are also accorded to those who are already here today? We have enough discrimination in the country. There is no reason to discriminate the refugees too.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan is chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (www.ideas.org.my). 

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

NGOs query Immigration round-up of refugees

Suresh Kashuerin | October 14, 2015

Those picked up, including women and children, were herded into lorries and taken away.

GEORGE TOWN: A coalition of migrant rights NGOs in Penang has condemned the rounding up of some 80 people, including 60 refugees and asylum seekers, in an operation by the Immigration Department in Bagan Dalam on Tuesday night.

The Coalition, Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign (PSHTC), said those picked up, including women and children, were herded into lorries and taken away.

“It is unclear how mounting major raids on already vulnerable families and individuals, including detaining and incarcerating young children, represents our common humanity,” said PSHTC in a statement.

“The 150,000-plus registered refugees and asylum seekers already here have long had no rights (not even the right to work), and are horribly vulnerable to arrest, extortion, detention, deportation or worse,” the Coalition added.

PSHTC said Rohingya and other Burmese Muslims have found a home in Bagan Dalam, albeit unprotected, and have been living there for some 20 years or more. It said families live together, interspersed with the local community, and some of the children were born in Malaysia. “These are the Rohingya who fled the horrors taking place in the Arakan state of Myanmar, or others from Myanmar fleeing intolerable abuses, persecution and threats to their lives.”

PSHTC said these refugees have survived a journey that for many included time in the horror camps of Thailand and Malaysia, but were now registered with the UNHCR as refugees.

“However, many have not got a UNHCR Refugee Card yet, since the process of verification is a long one,” said PSHTC. “While waiting for the card, these people are described as ‘asylum seekers’, but for the police, immigration and other authorities, this so often seems to count for nothing.”

PSHTC said refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers desperately need Malaysia’s support, and the government needs to respect, enshrine and enforce basic rights, including their right to work. These women, men and children need to be given some protection against the unscrupulous (including human traffickers), the Coalition added.

“Instead, we stand aside while thousands in our community live precarious lives, always at the mercy of the authorities and others, never secure, always on the edge of harassment and extortion, and in fear of arrest, detention and deportation,” said the Coalition.

“Clearly, if we are to give substance to our prime minister’s promise to the world, we need to transform our thinking, transform our reactions and transform our responses so that we really do embrace every woman, man and child who is here as fellow human beings, our brothers and sisters and part of the global family. We cannot simply ‘pass on by’.”

Myanmar’s Refugee Problem: It’s Not Just the Rohingya

It’s Not Just the Rohingya, Other ethnic groups from Myanmar are facing an increasingly difficult situation too.

By Kirsten McConnachie

October 14, 2015

This article is part of “Southeast Asia: Refugees in Crisis,” an ongoing series by The Diplomat for summer and fall 2015 featuring exclusive articles from scholars and practitioners tackling Southeast Asia’s ongoing refugee crisis. All articles in the series can be found here.

This summer’s boat abandonments made the world aware of the plight faced by the Rohingya. This was important and overdue recognition of a desperate situation. However, the Rohingya are not Myanmar’s only refugees. Other ethnic groups from Myanmar are facing an increasingly difficult situation, trapped in exile by a continuing fear of persecution but finding their supporters and sources of protection slipping away. What will the future hold for them, and what must be done to make return a real possibility?

During decades of militarization in Myanmar, millions of people left the country illegally in search of security and a better life elsewhere. The vast majority became undocumented migrant workers in Thailand, Malaysia and beyond. A much smaller population is registered as refugees with the UNHCR: around 130,000 people in camps in Thailand, around 150,000 in Malaysia and more than 10,000 in India. To varying degrees, these people rely on international aid and assistance to support their lives in exile. Refugees in camps in Thailand are forbidden to leave the camp and are entirely dependent on external aid for food, shelter and other necessities of survival. In India and Malaysia, refugees are not confined to camps and can find (informal) employment to survive, but they continue to depend on the UNHCR and other organizations for protection and other assistance.

Currently, refugees in these countries find themselves in a perplexing situation. After decades in which the international community was united in condemning Myanmar, the political climate has shifted. Myanmar is no longer an international pariah but is seen as a country in transition, a country whose former rulers have freely divested themselves of power in favor of a path to democracy and equality. This perception has had important consequences for refugees outside the country who have become an inconvenient truth rendered invisible by the good news story of transition and transformation. One indication of this is the disappearance of funding for refugee programming. In Thailand, The Border Consortium is operating with a large funding shortfall and struggling to attract donor support. My own interviews with refugees in India and Malaysia have found a similar theme: “We used to receive funding from Australia/Norway/Prague but now it has stopped,” one said. “I used to be an interpreter with an NGO but now they have reduced their Burmese staff,” another noted.

Myanmar’s refugees also seem to be viewed with a more critical eye than previously. In Thailand, the government has made it plain that repatriation of refugees will be a priority if Myanmar’s elections in November are deemed to be successful. In Malaysia (another country with deepening economic interests with Myanmar) pressure is similarly building, with refugees repeatedly told by both national officials and international agency staff that Myanmar has transformed and they should return home. Across countries there appears to be a growing sense – bordering on suspicion – that many of Myanmar’s exiles are no longer “real” refugees but opportunists making demands on a system of international protection that they no longer require.

The fundamental question is: has Myanmar really changed? Most, if not all, refugees would say no. They have little trust in Myanmar’s government, none at all in its military – and fail to see any meaningful separation between the two. Even the most optimistic Myanmar analysts recognize that pockets of the country remain deeply problematic: the worsening persecution of Rohingya and Myanmar Muslims, the ongoing conflict in Kachin and Shan states, the brutal assault on the Kokang. To recognize this and remain confident that refugees can return requires dividing Myanmar into its constituent parts to determine that a fear of persecution continues to exist in Rakhine State but not in Chin State; in Kachin State but not in Karenni State. Of course, it is certainly feasible that one region of a country is safe for refugee repatriation while another is not. Myanmar may seem like just such a country, given its division of territory by ethnic group. However, it is also a country where a single regime has dominated the nation – and, more importantly, where a single sensibility has dominated governance.

For the past fifty years, under successive military juntas, Myanmar has followed a strategic project of Burmanization, i.e. the promotion of a single religion (Buddhism), language (Burmese) and culture (Burman). At its mildest, this is a policy of cultural assimilation. At its worst, it has verged on – and arguably pursued – ethnic cleansing. Ceasefires with ethnic armed groups have reduced military activity and human rights violations in several ethnic states. But the treatment of Rohingya shows the continued potency of Burmese nationalism, and highlights that Myanmar is no rainbow democracy but a country with deep-seated racism and discrimination that is entrenched in existing law and pursued through new laws.

Viewed in that light, it is much clearer to see why many refugees of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities continue to feel a risk of persecution on return. Depending on the outcome of November’s election, it is possible that more people will be willing to venture back home. The coming months therefore have the potential to be crucial in building confidence in Myanmar’s political future and in the future for returnees. Here, there is an important link with the peace process between the Myanmar government and the ethnic armed groups.

To date, the peace talks have been almost totally silent on the issue of displacement, though refugees and IDPs are overwhelmingly from the non-Burman ethnic groups and their future choices will certainly be shaped by the outcome of that process. It is an immensely complex peace process, both with respect to the number of participants (sixteen ethnic armed groups attempting to negotiate in unison through the NCCT) and the portfolio of issues to be addressed: constitutional reform; federalism; political structures and institutions of governance; control over natural resources; military reform; electoral reform and many more.

Addressing displacement has not yet been a priority but the peace process is vital for successful refugee return, both to convince refugees that the political environment has truly changed and to remove existing barriers to return. It must also be recognized that a successful return process has important implications for the peace process. If Myanmar is truly moving towards democracy, returning refugees can help embed that process and contribute to developing the country. But a poorly managed return process could lead to disputes over jobs, land and housing and ultimately create new problems of crime and political instability.

After some months of apparent deadlock, the peace negotiations have seen dramatic developments, with a split in the NCCT negotiation bloc and the signing of a ceasefire by eight ethnic armed groups, including the KNU. These signings are controversial – even within their own parties – and the failure of the “nationwide ceasefire” process to reach a truly nationwide agreement hints at some of the changes and challenges that lie ahead. Hopefully, possibilities for progress will be clearer after next month’s election.

At that stage, it will be essential to move beyond rhetoric. For peace-building to succeed, Myanmar’s ethnic nationalities need evidence of convincing, enduring change: a commitment to political autonomy in ethnic states, demilitarization of ethnic areas; investment in development and infrastructure; legal reforms to ensure an end to discrimination on grounds of ethnicity and religion. For return to succeed, Myanmar’s refugees need concrete guarantees: of security on return, of a restoration of identity documentation and citizenship status; of practical support to ensure future livelihoods. If these areas are addressed, it is likely that people will return gladly. Until these areas are addressed, many will remain trapped in a climate of dwindling protection.

Dr Kirsten McConnachie is Assistant Professor in law at the University of Warwick. Formerly a research fellow at the University of Oxford, she is the author of “Governing Refugees” (Routledge 2014) an analysis of camp governance and the administration of justice in refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

-http://thediplomat.com

Migrant rights NGO coalition slams action against refugees

A coalition of migrant rights NGOs in Penang have condemned the rounding up of some 80 people, including 60 refugees and asylum seekers, in an operation by the Immigration Department in Bagan Dalam last night.

The group, Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign (PSHTC), said those picked up, including women and children, were herded into lorries and taken away.

The NGO chided Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who on the world stage in New York recently showed what a generous and welcoming place Malaysia is for refugees.

Najib had pledged to the United Nations then that Malaysia would take in some 3,000 Syrian refugees over the next three years, and talked of how "we must respect our common humanity”.

“It is unclear how mounting major raids on already vulnerable families and individuals, including detaining and incarcerating young children, represents our common humanity,” PSHTC said in a statement today.

“Meantime, the 150,000-plus registered refugees and asylum seekers already here have long had no rights (not even the right to work), and are horribly vulnerable to arrest, extortion, detention, deportation or worse,” the NGO added.

Asylum seekers living there for 20 years

PSHTC said Rohingya and other Burmese Muslims have found a home in Bagan Dalam, albeit unprotected, and have been living there for some 20 years or more.

It said families live together, interspersed with the local community, and some of the children have been born in Malaysia.

These are the Rohingya who fled the horrors taking place in the Arakan state of Myanmar, or others from Myanmar fleeing intolerable abuses, persecution and threats to their lives.

PSHTC said these refugees have survived a journey that for many included time in the horror camps of Thailand and Malaysia, but were now registered with the UNHCR as refugees.

“However, many will not have got a UNHCR Refugee Card yet, since the process of verification is a long one,” PSHTC said.

“While waiting for the card, these people are described as ‘asylum seekers’, but for the police, immigration and other authorities, this so often seems to count for nothing,” the group lamented.

PSHTC said refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers desperately need Malaysia’s support, and the government needs to respect, enshrine and enforce basic rights, including their right to work.

These women, men and children need to be given some protection against the unscrupulous (including human traffickers), the NGO added.

“Instead, we stand aside while thousands in our community live precarious lives, always at the mercy of the authorities and others, never secure, always on the edge of harassment and extortion, and in fear of arrest, detention and deportation,” the group said.

“Clearly, if we are to give substance to our prime minister’s promise to the world, we need to transform our thinking, transform our reactions and transform our responses so that we really do embrace every woman, man and child who is here as fellow human beings, our brothers and sisters and part of the global family. We cannot simply ‘pass on by’.”

Professional, semi-skilled Syrian refugees eligible to receive minimum wages, says minister -

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot (right) meeting delegates of the 7th Regional Tripartite Social Dialogue Conference for Growth, Employment and Sound Industrial Relations in the Service Sectors in Asean, Oct 12, 2015. — Bernama pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — The 3,000 Syrian refugees, preferably professional and semi-skilled, which Malaysia will accept over the next three years are eligible to receive minimum wages upon selection to work in this country.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said this was based on the Convention of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), namely the Convention 100 - Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), which Malaysia had ratified way back in 1998.

“Based on that convention, Malaysia cannot discriminate them (Syrian refugees), especially in terms of salaries between foreign and local workers.

He was speaking to reporters after opening the 7th Regional Tripartite Social Dialogues For Growth, Employment And Sound Industrial Relations In The Services Sectors in Asean: “Managing Labour Market In An Integrated Asean here today.

On Oct 2, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, while addressing the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly said Malaysia would open its doors to 3,000 Syrian migrants to help alleviate the refugee crisis.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi later said Malaysia would give preference to professional and semi-skilled people in accepting the Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, in his opening speech at the dialogue, Riot said the establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by year-end would certainly impact the region’s labour market.

He said, based on a study conducted by ILO and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it was suggested that Asean economic integration, if not managed properly, might worsen the economic inequalities.

Riot also pointed out that while AEC would definitely further stimulate demand for increased flexibility in the labour market, it might pose risks to social protection for workers if not properly regulated.

Therefore, the minister said, all Asean members must be prepared for the impact by building up effective social protection system for workers.

Riot said effective social protection system, including dynamic labour laws must be put in place to ensure adaptability of employers and employees.

On Malaysia’s part, he pointed out to the delegates that the country had sought ways to improve the state of its labour protection system, including establishment of the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) in 2011.

He said NWCC’s main function was to recommend the rates of minimum wages, coverage and implementation to the government, which subsequently resulted in the establishment of the Minimum Wages Order in 2012, while the full implementation of the policy commenced last year.

Besides that, he added, Malaysia had also explored the feasibility of introducing an employment insurance system to provide financial and training assistance to retrenched workers to facilitate their re-employment.

Touching further on the dialogue, Riot hoped they would strengthen the network, collaborate and work in partnership to manage the labour market, complement economic and trade policies, as well as grow the economy nationally and collectively at the Asean level.

The two-day tripartite dialogue, organised by the Asean Services Employees Trade Union Council is an initiative aimed at advancing social dialogue in Asean to ensure the inclusion of the Decent Work Agenda to the development of the Asean Community. — Bernama

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com

DPM: Malaysia to accept professional, semi-skilled Syrian refugees

Ahmad Zahid (left) the signning visitor’s book with his wife Datin Seri Hamidah Khamis while the Malaysian Ambassador to the United States, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin (right) looks on. — Bernama photo

WASHINGTON DC: Malaysia is to give preference to professional and semi-skilled people in accepting the 3,000 Syrian refugees it has agreed to bring to Malaysia over the next three years.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Home Ministry was working out the procedure for these refugees to move to Malaysia.

“This is Malaysia’s commitment to the international community,” he said, elaborating on the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the acceptance of the Syrian refugees when addressing the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Oct 1.

Referring to the Syrian boy who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Syrian refugee crisis, Najib said the world community should not just sit back and watch what was going on.

It is estimated that more than four million Syrians have fled as refugees from the civil war in their country.

Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia was more committed now than during the war in the Balkan states when the country accepted 200 refugees from Bosnia Herzegovina.

He spoke to Malaysian journalists soon after he began a working visit Wednesday to the United States administrative centre.

“The visit is at the invitation of the United States government,” said Ahmad Zahid, who is also the home minister.

He is scheduled to sign the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 (HSPD-6) with US Secretary of State John Kerry, the final procedure for Malaysia to be granted exemption of visa for Malaysians visiting the United States.

An announcement on the facility is expected to be made by US President Barack Obama during his visit to Malaysia scheduled for next month.

Ahmad Zahid said all Malaysians eligible to visit the United States would enjoy the visa exemption.

He said Malaysia had already complied with most of the matters on the checklist towards visa exemption, and the rejection rate for visa applications shall not exceed three per cent compared to the existing 4.2 per cent.

However, he said, this was more of a technical hitch related to knowing how to fill the application form than a security issue.

The deputy prime minister said this matter could be addressed with the cooperation of the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur through the holding of awareness programmes for tour agents and the public on the visa application procedure.

Ahmad Zahid, who is on his third visit to the United States since October last year, is scheduled to hold discussions with various authorities in Washington, such as the State Department, Homeland Security Department and organisations such as the CIA and FBI.

On the first day of his visit, Ahmad Zahid held meetings with the CIA and FBI.

The deputy prime minister held discussions separately with CIA director John O Brennan and deputy director Mark F. Giuliano, on among other things cooperation in addressing the threat of extremism, on cyber security and cyber crime, including cross-border crime.

Ahmad Zahid said that besides exchanging information and intelligence information, the US could share with Malaysian enforcement agencies its expertise in software and training on cyber crime and cyber security.

He also said that amendments would be made to Malaysian laws to provide for monitoring of the cyberspace and social media in the country.

Ahmad Zahid invited the CIA and FBI to attend the Putrajaya International Security Dialogue on Oct 21-22 as well as the International Conference on Deradicalisation in Malaysia in January next year. — Bernama

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/

Myanmar escalates pressure on activists ahead of elections

A guard closes a gate leading to Myanmar's Insein prison following a prisoner release in Yangon in October 2014. Observers say the country has intensified pressure on activists in the lead-up to the highly anticipated Nov. 8 elections. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

Rights groups and faith leaders in Myanmar are calling on the government to immediately release almost 100 political prisoners, including Christians, amid a renewed crackdown on peaceful activists ahead of November elections.

Advocates for prisoners of conscience in Myanmar say there are at least 96 political prisoners behind bars and hundreds more awaiting trial. At least five of the 96 people are Christians — three Kachin and two Karen people, who were arrested for alleged links to ethnic rebel groups.

Father Thomas Htang Shan Mong, director of the bishops' conference's Justice and Peace Commission, said the church should be more outspoken on the political prisoner issue, because locking up activists contravenes basic social justice principles.

"Scores of political prisoners remain behind bars," Father Htang Shan Mong said in an interview on Oct. 8. "[This] shows that the country has yet to move forward to democracy and sounds the alarm to civil society groups that they need to push for amending the draconian laws that attempt to silence activists."

Lama Yaw, a spokesman for the Kachin Baptist Convention, said many people in his predominantly Christian state have been displaced because of conflict between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army. Often, the displaced Kachin are arbitrarily arrested and accused of links to the rebel group.

"The arbitrary arrests … of activists and civilians across the country is returning to the old ways of dictatorship and it is totally against democratic values and principles," Lama Yaw told ucanews.com.

In December 2013, authorities in Myanmar declared there were no political prisoners in the country — a claim that rights groups greeted with deep skepticism.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Thailand-based advocacy group, believes there are 96 political prisoners, including the five Christians, and more than 450 others awaiting trial.

Aung Myo Kyaw, a spokesman for the group, said the upcoming Nov. 8 elections have only intensified the government's actions, with authorities continuing to lock up activists in the months leading up to the poll.

"It is a great opportunity for the government to release all remaining political prisoners ahead of the election so that these people can participate in the historic polls," Aung Myo Kyaw said. "If the government really wants to move forward to democracy, no political prisoner should be behind bars."

Amnesty International, the London-based rights group, also believes repression has "drastically picked up pace" in the last two years.

In an Oct. 8 statement, the group said at least 91 prisoners of conscience are still stuck behind bars — far more than what Amnesty had counted in 2013. The group has documented "a marked surge" in repression as the election draws near, with authorities charging activists with a range of offences and keeping them in pretrial detention.

"Myanmar authorities have clearly been playing a long game ahead of the elections, with repression picking up pace at least nine months before the campaigning period started in September," Laura Haigh, the group's Myanmar researcher, said in the statement.

"Their goal has been straightforward: take undesirable voices off the streets way ahead of the elections and make sure they're not heard."

Why do we only like refugees if they’re pretty?

OCTOBER 7 — Our dear Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak got quite a lot of flak online after he announced in New York that Malaysia was going to give shelter to 3,000 Syrian refugees.

Hold up, Malaysian denizens asked: What about the Syrians who are already here? The Afghans? The Rohingya? 

Since when did Malaysia start making a distinction between refugees and so-called “illegals.”

Here’s what you need to know: Malaysia has never signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, which gives protection and accords certain rights to refugees. 

A refugee under the terms of said convention is defined thus:

“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

The Malay word for refugee is simply “pelarian” — stemming from the word “lari” or run. Sadly, it is often used as a derogatory term here, because it’s not just the government who doesn’t recognise refugees — it’s us, too.

Being a refugee means that to stay in your home country means almost certain death, and the only chance at having some sort of life is to run.

Just look back in history and there are plenty of names of people who had to run — from wars, civil unrest or persecution. 

Refugees who unluckily end up in Malaysia often come here with nothing but the clothes on their backs. What do they find? Locals who shun them. Employers who mislead and abuse them. Policemen who harass them for bribes and immigration officials who will either deport or detain them.

The truth is, it isn’t just Malaysia or Malaysians who have distaste for refugees. Even Angelina Jolie, the UNHCR’s celebrity spokesperson, has said that her own attempts at fundraising from the Hollywood set for refugees proved so futile, she said she would have been better off giving her own money than trying to solicit it from that crowd.

Part of the reason for that is the notion of scarcity; the prevailing fear and paranoia that refugees would take from us what we need for our own people. We do not want these outsiders; we see them only as burdens and never as people.

Except of course, if they’re pretty. During the Bosnian war, plenty of Caucasian-looking Bosnians found temporary refuge in Malaysia and they were treated like beautiful, living curios. One NGO was even proposing “breeding” them with locals to produce beautiful children. How dehumanising is that; to treat human beings as though they were no different from livestock or exotic pets.

Perhaps Najib wants brownie points for helping Muslim brethren, but in that regard, why then are Palestinians who escape to Malaysia not given shelter? Why are they treated little differently from other undocumented migrants?

I guess it’s easier to care about Palestinians or Syrians when they’re on the news, but not when they’re on our doorsteps asking for food and shelter.

What I’d like to see is for agencies to stop bringing in foreign workers, for Malaysia to ratify the refugee convention and for Malaysians in general to start seeing refugees as people who, through no fault of their own, desperately need aid.

I know that’s as likely as us finding out where that donation came from, but you can’t blame this ex-UNHCR staffer from hoping. So please, before you say an unkind word about “illegals”, “Banglas” and “bloody foreigners”, turn on the news and remind yourself that the world can be a terrible, horrible place. 

It’s up to us to try and make it a little less so.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com

Refugees watch election with interest, trepidation

Outside of Nai Soi village in northern Thailand, more than 14,000 refugees from Kayah State debate elections going on just across the border. While there will be no voting for those in Thailand’s largest refugee camp – most lack ID cards – that doesn’t mean they don’t have opinions about the coming polls.

Young Karenni walk in through a refugee camp near Nai Soi village in Thailand. Photo: Carole Oudot / The Myanmar Times

People started settling in the Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in 1992 and it was officially opened in 1996, according to the Karenni Refugee Committee. Most of the camp residents fled Kayah State due to clashes between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups fighting for independence. The Karenni National Progressive Party signed its second ceasefire agreement with the government in 2012. The first, signed in 1994, collapsed after less than three months.

“I was born in Shadaw township and I came to the camp with my family 20 years ago,” said Ko Su Reh, 22, “The fighting between the Burmese and the Karenni armies forced us to move from place to place.”

His story is common among the refugees, who were uprooted, often multiple times, due to intense conflict. Many of the younger refugees have spent their whole life at the camp, knowing only a 5-kilometre perimeter around Nai Soi.

Trusting the Myanmar government doesn’t come naturally here. The refugees expect and hope that the ruling party will be defeated in the polls by the National League for Democracy, but they don’t anticipate their troubles will be over after an opposition victory.

Most fear that if NLD wins and the political situation in Myanmar is stable, their camp will be shuttered, and they will be forced back into a country they associate with violence and hardship.

“I think if the NLD wins, good changes will come, but it will take a long time before they have consequences in Kayah State,” said Ko Than Tun Oo, 20, who joined the refugee camp in 2011.

He added that before the refugees are funnelled back into Kayah State, they want to see a plan to ensure their well-being and livelihoods agreed to by the local administration. Most of all, Ko Than Tun Oo said, they demand a national ceasefire and genuine peace to be in place before they are repatriated.

“In July, the UNHCR presented their resettlement operation plan, but we think it is too soon [to return],” said Ko Luiz Martin, secretary of the KRC. “A lot of people panicked. The Thai government said the refugees will not be forced to leave, but that within two years, we will have to be gone. U Aung Min from the Myanmar Peace Center also said Myanmar was ready to welcome back the refugees.”

But as clashes continue to flare in Myanmar, the credibility of the ceasefire agreement, which will not be signed by all armed ethnic groups, remains in doubt. Given the fleeting agreements made in the past, many of the residents do not store much faith in the latest peace deal.

Returning is also difficult to conceptualise for those who no longer have a home to go back to.

“In the camp, it’s hard – everyone is struggling for survival. But what will we do if we go back?” said Ko Anthony, 30. He fled Myanmar in 2010, afraid to be arrested after campaigning against the 2008 constitutional referendum. Fear of political persecution upon being repatriated is also common among the refugees.

“Most of the refugees are accused of having connections with armed groups branded as unlawful. They fear they could be arrested if they go back home. Since most of the people here come from eastern Kayah State, devastated by the civil war, their villages don’t exist anymore. There are still landmines and the threat of land-grabs,” said Ko Luiz Martin.

Increasingly, however, Thailand appears to be playing a resentful host. In 2005, Thailand stopped officially registering and admitting new refugees to the camps. While waves of unofficial entries have continued, the newer arrivals have no status, no identification, and cannot officially seek asylum or apply for resettlement. They also cannot obtain official employment, and without the protection of any recognised status are vulnerable to exploitation.

“We feel like birds trapped in a cage,” said Ko Neh Reh. “A lot of young people, fed up with their limbo situation, dropped out from school. Violence and alcohol abuse are increasing in the camp.”

Meanwhile, living standards deteriorate every year. The food rations provided by supporting NGOs are never enough to match the rising refugee population and donor interest has waned. This month, the refugees will only get 9 kilograms (20 pounds) of rice per person, compared to the 20kg a head provided in the 1990s.

“Rations have declined because of donors’ change of interest. Since 2012, their new strategy is to focus on the development inside Myanmar. The camp is growing, but increasingly, it is forgotten,” said Ko Luiz Martin.

He added that to supplement their food, around 15 percent of the refugees work illegally in the nearby Thai farms. If they are caught by immigration officials, they could be deported and charged for illegal entry. At least for now, Thai authorities have mostly appeared willing to look the other way, but no one knows how long that leniency will continue, and whether the results of the elections will end it.

Are elections enough to bring about a true democracy?

On 8 November, Myanmar is due to hold a general election. Cardinal Charles Bo raises questions regarding key issues such as human rights, economic inequalities and social and religious discrimination

PAOLO AFFATATO, ROME

Everyone agrees that it will be a decisive step in the country’s history: the general election in Myanmar, which have just been announced for November 8th, will be the first since the country moved from military dictatorship to civil government in March 2011. 

This coming autumn’s election represents an important step along the country’s journey towards democracy and could definitively do away with the “generals in civilian clothes” who, as capable transformists, have stayed in power until now.

There are a total of 1,100 seats that need to be filled, including those of the two-chamber National Parliament and those of the provincial assemblies. The new Parliament will have the task of electing the President of the nation. 

There are two main contending parties: the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) which is currently in power and full of former members of the military and the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. The two parties are the same ones that came head to head in the last democratic elections the country held in 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi won with an overwhelming majority but the military junta nullified the election result.

The Catholic Church shares in the view that this is a “historic moment” for the Burmese people. In a majority Buddhist country, there is a small approximately 500,000-strong community of Catholics who form 1% of Myanmar’s population.

The Church asks one fundamental question: are elections sufficient in defining a democracy and determining how democratic a country is? It answers by highlighting how essential the following principles are amongst others: human rights, religious freedom, inter-denominational harmony, respect and peaceful co-existence with ethnic minorities, equal opportunities and fighting against poverty and economic and social inequalities.

On behalf of the Catholic Church, Burmese cardinal Charles Maung Bo, esteemed Archbishop of Yangon and an influential public figure who speaks frankly, raised doubts and offered hints for collective reflection and the common good of the country.

In a shrewd analysis of the situation, Bo mentioned “seven swords that pierce the nation’s heart”: a nepotistic capitalism, where a few families possess most of the wealth; a refusal to resolve conflicts through dialogue, opting for violence instead; unfair laws that continue to deprive farmers of their land; a criminal economy of drugs and human trafficking; discrimination against ethnic minorities; the destruction of natural resources and scarce educational and occupational opportunities for the poor.

With this in mind, the cardinal sent out a heartfelt appeal to political leaders, inviting them to be “good parents to the whole nation”. “In accordance with our traditions, as ‘parents of the people’, our political leaders have the right and duty to promote the wellbeing of everyone,” he said in a message published by Vatican news agency Fides.

The Archbishop of Yangon recalled the expectations of the Burmese people, with 50 years of dictatorship at an end and a democratic transition in full swing. Bo pointed to the hair-raising figures of the latest census: 40% of the Burmese population lives under the poverty line and in some states, such as Chin and Rakine, poverty levels reach 70%. And poverty generates the migration phenomenon: there are over 200,000 displaced people within the country and thousands more Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries.

The cardinal clearly stated that “political leaders did not fulfil our expectations: they have become the guardians of a nepotistic capitalism in an economy that is purely motivated by profit,” putting the interests of the élites above all else.

Another sore spot: leaders have been unable to control widespread acts of hatred and intolerance committed by extremist religious groups, for example, the violent “ethnic cleansing” campaign promoted by the nationalist Buddhist fringe against Rohingya Muslims. The conflict with ethnic minorities - given the nation’s mosaic of ethnicities - is another key question that has led to the hypothesis of a federal state being considered as a solution.

Bo raised some serious questions: “Will political leaders manage to avoid discriminating against citizens on the basis of ethnicity or religion? Will they be able to accept equality and build a united nation?”

Principles such as respect for the human rights of everyone, unity and equality are at the root of democracy. This is the message that the Church is trying to get across ahead of an electoral competition that could mark the start of a new era in Myanmar.

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it

South Korea to Grant Work and Housing to 30 Myanmar Refugees as Part of U.N. Resettlement Program, Justice Ministry Says

The Ministry of Justice of South Korea confirmed on Monday that the government is taking steps to welcome 30 Myanmar refugees as part of a United Nations-led resettlement initiative for refugees.

In a Yonhap News Report on Sept. 15 it was said that the Ministry of Justice is screening eligible Myanmar refugees who are currently living in the Mae Sot camp near the Myanmar-Thailand border. 30 selected candidates will be brought into South Korea in December where they will be granted benefits and opportunities.

South Korea is the second Asian country to help facilitate the resettlement of refugees after Japan, which first accepted refugees in 2010, Jakarta Post writes.

This move from the South Korean government is in line with the resettlement program established by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which was brought to life two years after South Korea's Refugee Act of 2013 took effect.

Under the resettlement program South Korea will bring in 30 refugees from Myanmar starting this year until 2017. "We will run a pilot project to admit 30 refugees every year until 2017 and see whether we will continue the program after monitoring the results," a representative from the Ministry of Justice said.

Those selected will be granted refugee status and F-2 visas that will allow them to live and work in South Korea.

To help them transition into their new lives, the refugees will undergo Korean language courses and trainings for employment for a period six to 12 months at a support center for refugees located in the west port city of Incheon. After they complete these programs, the refugees will then be transported to their official settlements.

KBS World Radio also reports that United Nation's resettlement program is now being implemented in 28 other countries including the U.S., Australia, and Japan.

The South Korean government chose refugees from Myanmar because its people allegedly share a similar cultural background, and also there is already an established Burmese community in the country.

Volunteers help refugees from Burma create community

She thought she made a mistake. Takwae Htoo was in her 20s, a single mother in an unfamiliar place after her home country had been ravaged by civil unrest. “We had nothing,” she said. “It was just me and my baby alone. I did not speak English. I did not know anybody.” Takwae Htoo is a refugee from Burma, renamed Myanmar by the current government, a country that has been ruled by a military junta since the 1960s. She was originally placed in Texas a decade ago. Now, she calls Chapel Hill home. She is a housekeeper at UNC, attends English classes through the Orange County Literacy Council and works part time at a farm run by refugees and volunteers. She married another Burmese refugee who settled here too, and her children go to school in Carrboro.

Sey Mor practices identifying the President and Vice President at a citizenship class at the Refugee Support Center of Carrboro. Sey Mor is a refugee from Burma living in Carrboro. By Stephanie Lamm The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has placed more than 4,000 refugees from Burma in North Carolina. Fewer than 300 were originally placed in Chapel Hill and Carrboro; however, more than 1,000 refugees from Burma have since found homes here, according to the Refugee Support Center in Carrboro. Refugees from Burma belong to many different ethnic groups, including Burmese, Karen and Chin. They speak a variety of languages, most commonly a dialect of Karen.

Many refugees placed around the country move to Orange County due to the area’s wealth of refugee assistance organizations — most run by volunteers. Volunteer organizations assist refugees in gaining citizenship, learning English and finding work and housing. When the honeymoon ends Eh Paw came to Carrboro from a refugee camp in Thailand three years ago with her 3-month-old son who was having seizures every day. While searching for a job and taking care of her two older children, she traveled to and from UNC Hospitals daily to take care of him. “My baby is very sick,” Eh Paw said. “They sent me to America so he could receive medical care that is better than in the camp.” Eh Paw now considers herself lucky — she understands English, her son’s condition is under control and her husband joined her in Carrboro six months ago. Most importantly, she can move about freely. Raised in a refugee camp, Eh Paw had to ask the camp supervisor for permission to leave. Eh Paw works as a translator at the Refugee Support Center in Carrboro, which helps refugees from Burma with everything from applying for public housing to filing for child support. Flicka Bateman is the director of the center, which relies on volunteers to help refugees with legal services, language skills and a variety of other needed programs.

She said her organization provides long-term support. “It’s hard to explain exactly what we do because we do so many different things,” Bateman said. “If you think of it as a hierarchy of needs, we usually step in after the placement organization meets the families’ most basic needs. We work with public housing, we place them with jobs, help them set up a bank account, find schools for their kids and connect them with other resources in the community.” Refugee placement organizations like the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and Church World Service provide support for the first three to six months, but after that, refugee families must turn to a variety of organizations to meet their needs. “We usually meet people once the honeymoon period ends and they become anxious and start questioning whether refugee placement here was a good idea,” Bateman said. Takwae Htoo was originally placed in Texas, but Orange County’s community of volunteer-based organizations has provided her with a more stable life. “They paid rent for six months. After that, nothing,” Takwae Htoo said. “Things are not as hard here. 

We have people to help us.” Learning the language Takwae Htoo said of the challenges refugees face, learning English is the greatest. Takwae Htoo’s oldest child, now a junior in high school, was 5 years old when they came to the U.S. She said she is proud of how quickly he picked up English, but she is disappointed she cannot help him with his homework. At East Chapel Hill High School, students founded the Refugee Outreach Club, which tutors refugee children. Elsa Steiner, a sophomore at UNC and one of the founding members of the Refugee Outreach Club, said teachers often do not have the time or resources to make sure refugee children succeed in school. “When teachers assign homework, especially in the lower grades, sometimes they assume that the parents can help, but that’s not the case for many of these children,” Steiner said. Casey Smith, another founding member, said the Karen and Burmese communities face a lack of resources within the schools to learn English, and she and other co-founders took on the challenge of providing support where the school system could not. “It’s not like Spanish or even Arabic where there are translators and resources for people who want to work with the Karen community,” said Smith, now a junior at Wesleyan University. “Unless they learned in the camps or unless they were very young when they came here, it could take many years before they speak enough English to get by on their own.” Smith’s mother, Lori Carswell, teaches Takwae Htoo’s English class through the Orange County Literacy Council. “I didn’t expect to become so involved, but when it’s something like this, it’s so rewarding to watch them grow,” Carswell said after teaching a recent session of her English class at the Chapel Hill Public Library. Cultivating Community On her days off, Takwae Htoo and her husband work a small plot of land at Transplanting Traditions, where 28 refugee families are given plots of land to grow and sell crops for supplementary income. 

Customers for Transplanting Traditions prepay for food grown by the farmers before the harvest season. Crops are also sold at the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Farmers’ Market, teaching farmers how to market their goods. Kelly Owensby, director of Transplanting Traditions, said the organization expects to bring in $60,000 by the end of 2015 — money that will go directly to the refugee farmers. All of the farmers at Transplanting Traditions worked as farmers back in Burma. Steiner, who volunteered with the organization, said it’s empowering for refugees to find work in an industry they are familiar with. “Transplanting Traditions makes them feel like they can provide for their family without having to learn a new skill,” said Steiner. “This is something they knew how to do back in their country. They can take on leadership roles and collaborate with other families. There are numerous mental health benefits in addition to providing them with a livelihood.” Owensby agreed that the benefits of the program include far more than supplementary income. “We’ve seen a decrease in stress and better mental and physical health in the families we work with,” Owensby said. Transplanting Traditions is entirely run by volunteers. The organization also offers educational and enrichment programs for teenagers and children — for example, its cultural preservation initiative, which records the stories and cultural traditions of refugees. “Our goal is to improve refugees’ lives through food security and supplemental income,” Owensby said. “But we also try to take a holistic approach to serving the community. Transplanting Traditions plans to expand the farm by 50 percent — to 7.5 acres — by next summer. And Transplanting Traditions recently partnered with People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill Carrboro Homes, which provides 111 refugee families with $100 in fresh produce each month. The farm donates $1,000 worth of food grown by its farmers, including specialty produce typically grown in Southeast Asia, to PORCH, which is a volunteer-based hunger relief organization. Debbie Horwitz, the founder and director of PORCH, said the Food for Families program, which began in 2010, was designed with these refugee families in mind. Most families are referred to the program by a school social worker. “We found that local pantries often weren’t meeting the needs of the refugee community,” Horwitz said. “They aren’t used to the food grown here. It’s important that they have access to fresh produce native to where they are from. With our partnership with Transplanting Traditions, we can provide that for them.” About half of all Burmese and Karen refugee families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro are served by PORCH, including more than 300 children. Food donated through PORCH is delivered by volunteers. 

They also deliver clothing, books, computers, strollers, mattresses and other donated items as they are available. “It forms a bond between our volunteers and the refugee community,” Horwitz said. “When people see how gracious our families are they often want to find new ways to help. You can’t just see the need these people are in and walk away without wanting to donate more of your time.” Steiner, who has continued her work with the refugee community since high school, said it’s important that volunteer organizations pick up where government services leave off. “People who work with refugees talk about how there’s a bell curve of resettlement,” Steiner said. “When people first come over they are overjoyed, and they thought the worst was over. Then they begin to realize that they will probably live in poverty the rest of their life, but at the same time they don’t want to seem ungrateful. Eventually things get steady and they find the support they need, but things are really hard for a while.” For Takwae Htoo, the hard times are over. She’s found success in her new home through the help of volunteer-based organizations. “We love it here,” she said. “We’re free here.”

Read more: http://www.dailytarheel.com

Refugee resettled in Cambodia under Australia deal 'wants to go home'

Agence France Presse

PHNOM PENH: A Myanmar Rohingya refugee recently resettled in Cambodia in a controversial and lucrative deal with Australia wants to go home, a Cambodian official said Monday.

Under Canberra's hardline immigration policy, asylum-seekers who arrive by boat are denied resettlement in Australia and sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, even if they are genuine refugees.

In a deal that was condemned by rights groups and the U.N., Cambodia agreed to take in Australia's unwanted refugees in exchange for millions of dollars of aid over the next four years.

Only those who volunteer are resettled.

Cambodia received its first batch of Nauru-held refugees - three Iranians and one ethnic Rohingya man from Myanmar - in early June.

But the Rohingya, a 25-year-old man, wants to return to Myanmar because of "homesickness," General Khieu Sopheak, the spokesman for the Cambodian Interior Ministry, told AFP.

"We are not opposing this. After resettling here in Cambodia, he has been meeting with the Burmese (Myanmar) embassy. We received the news from the Burmese embassy that the man wants to go back home," he said, adding that his father visited the man recently.

He said the Myanmar embassy in Phnom Penh had sent letters to the Cambodian Foreign Ministry and Australian immigration authorities to seek their view on the Rohingya's wish to return.

"In principle, we have no objection to (his return to Myanmar)," Khieu Sopheak said.

He added that the man, who was born in 1990, is now "waiting for travelling documents from the Burmese embassy; then we will let him go."

After the four refugees arrived in Cambodia in June, they were whisked away to a new life at an undisclosed location with the help of the International Organization for Migration which is tasked with helping them settle in.

The media have not yet been allowed to meet or interview the four refugees.

The IOM said it was unable to comment on the case "due to the refugee's request for privacy and our own confidentiality rules."

Refugee advocates say asylum-seekers heading for Australia do not generally want to be sent to Cambodia, a country that has been criticized for its own record of helping refugees, particularly Vietnamese Montagnards who are often deported.

Conditions on Nauru and Papua New Guinea have also been heavily criticized.

Khieu Sopheak said the Rohingya man's desire to return to Myanmar would not affect the deal with Australia.

"The agreement is still valid, we will continue to take in more refugees. But for now we have to wait until the other three refugees integrate into Cambodian society before we are going to accept more refugees," he added.

Austria, Germany open borders to migrants

Migrants cross the Hungarian-Austrian border on foot after their arrival into a transit zone by public bus to the Hungarian border, between Hungarian Hegyeshalom and Austrian Nickeldorf. — AFP photo

Migrants walk across border from Hungary, more arriving in Budapest

HEGYESHALOM, Hungary/VIENNA: Austria and Germany threw open their borders to thousands of exhausted migrants yesterday, bussed to the Hungarian border by a right-wing government that had tried to stop them but was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers reaching Europe’s frontiers.

After days of confrontation and chaos, Hungary’s right-wing government deployed dozens of buses to take migrants from Budapest and pick up over 1,000 others – many of them refugees from the Syrian war – who had set off doggedly by foot on Friday down the main highway to Vienna.

Austria said it had agreed with Germany that it would allow the migrants access, waiving the rules of an asylum system brought to breaking point by Europe’s worst refugee crisis since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.

Hungary insisted the bus rides were a one-off, even as hundreds more migrants began gathering in Budapest yesterday, part of seemingly relentless surge through the Balkan peninsula from Turkey and Greece. Wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags against the rain, long lines of weary migrants, many carrying small, sleeping children, climbed off buses on the Hungarian side of the border and walked into Austria, receiving fruit and water from aid workers. Waiting Austrians held signs that read, ‘Refugees welcome.’

“We’re happy. We’ll go to Germany,” said a Syrian man who gave his name as Mohammed. Another, who declined to be named, said: “Hungary should be fired from the European Union. Such bad treatment.”

Bavarian state police said they expected the first refugees to arrive in Germany around midday (1000 GMT), with national rail operator Deutsche Bahn saying a special train with 500 refugees aboard due to reach Munich around lunchtime.

Hungary, the main entry point into Europe’s borderless Schengen zone for migrants heading northwards through the Balkans, has taken a hard line, vowing to seal its southern frontier within days. Hungarian officials have also painted the crisis as a defence of Europe’s prosperity, identity and ‘Christian values’ against an influx of mainly Muslim migrants.

For days, several thousand camped outside Budapest’s main railway station, where trains to western Europe were cancelled as the government insisted all those entering Hungary be registered and their asylum applications processed in the country as per EU rules.

But on Friday, in separate rapid-fire developments, hundreds broke out of a teeming camp on Hungary’s frontier with Serbia, escaped a stranded train, and took to the highway by foot led by a one-legged Syrian refugee and chanting “Germany, Germany!”

Citing traffic safety, Hungary said it would supply some 100 buses to take them to the Austrian border. But the move marked an admission that the government had lost control in the face of large numbers determined to reach the wealthier nations of northern and western Europe at the end of an often perilous journey from war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. — AFP

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com