20 December 2012
The
Malaysian Government deserves commendation for its decision to accept
40 asylum seekers who were rescued at sea, the Refugee Council of
Australia (RCOA) said today.
RCOA
CEO Paul Power said Malaysia’s intervention was in stark contrast to
the mean-spirited behaviour of Singapore which last week refused entry
to the Vietnamese-registered cargo ship that had rescued the asylum
seekers, believed to be Rohingya people fleeing persecution in Burma’s
Rakhine state.
“In
light of the difficulties faced by many people seeking refuge in the
Asia-Pacific region, we are encouraged by Malaysia’s actions,” Mr Power
said. “UNHCR has described the Malaysian decision to allow the asylum
seekers to disembark as ‘a vital and a genuine humanitarian gesture’ –
and we agree.
“A
step such as this by Malaysia is exactly what is required to shift the
political focus in the region, from a focus on criminalising the
movement of people who are fleeing in fear to one in which protection
is provided to people who clearly need it.”
Mr
Power said the plight of the Rohingya people highlighted the
Asia-Pacific region’s failure to offer adequate protection to people who
are persecuted.
“Rohingya
people are rejected in Burma, being told that they have no right to be
in their own country of birth and denied citizenship,” Mr Power said.
“Earlier this year the world saw Bangladesh turning away Rohingya people
who were trying to flee at a time of heightened violence in Rakhine
state.
“Increasingly,
Rohingya people are taking to boats to head towards South-East Asia. No
one knows how many hundreds of refugees have died on the Bay of Bengal.
Their deaths go largely unremarked and result in no effective political
action.”
Mr
Power said Singapore’s refusal had highlighted that nation’s heartless
disregard for people in distress and allowed the world to see that
Malaysia had higher humanitarian standards than its neighbour.
“Malaysia’s
actions provide encouragement, at the end of a year in which there were
few signs of hope for refugees in the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr Power
said. “In the Middle East and Africa this year, nations have provided
hospitality to around 900,000 people displaced by the crises in Syria,
Mali and the Horn of Africa but in our region that same spirit of
welcome to refugees has been largely missing.
“However,
Malaysia’s humanitarian response to the desperate asylum seekers on the
MV Nosco Victory is a significant step and, if other governments are
prepared to act in the same spirit, this action could encourage more
serious thought about how the region could work together to protect
highly vulnerable people who have been displaced.
“We
encourage Malaysia, Australia and other governments in the region to
use the planned regional roundtable on irregular movement by sea, to be
held in Bali in March, as a forum to search for better answers for the
needs of people who are forced to flee persecution and violence in the
Asia Pacific region.”
Media contact: Andrew Williams 0488 035 535
Suite 4A6, 410 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010 Australia
Phone: (02) 9211 9333 ● Fax: (02) 9211 9288
Incorporated in ACT ● ABN 87 956 673 083
The
Refugee Council of Australia represents non-government organisations
and individuals working with and for refugees in Australia and around
the world
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