ASEAN Told To Consider Helping Those Fleeing Myanmar

By V. Sankara KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 (Bernama) -- ASEAN member states may consider offering refuge and protection to all those fleeing Myanmar as a result of the political crisis in the state, says the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Malaysian Representative to AICHR Eric Paulsen suggested efforts assist those fleeing Myanmar can be coordinated by the ASEAN secretariat as a temporary measure until the crisis is over. "This is something which can be considered by the Malaysian government as well. At least, ASEAN can discuss within themselves to share this particular burden," he said. Paulsen said this during the "Live webinar: United Nations Association of Malaysia (UNAM) Webinar on the Myanmar Crisis” moderated by former Malaysian ambassador to South Korea, M. Santhananaban. Eric said this was important as Malaysia and Thailand were close neighbours of Myanmar and consequently will receive refugees following turmoil caused by the military seizure of the democratically elected government on Feb 1. Myanmar has been going through upheaval since Feb 1 when armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing ousted an elected government led by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, with security forces killing more than 700 anti-coup protestors since then. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin arrived at Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday to attend the special ASEAN Leaders Meeting (ALM) on the crisis in Myanmar. General Min Aung Hlaing too was reported to have arrived in Jakarta to attend the meeting. Only the leaders of Thailand, Laos, and the Philippines will not be attending the meeting Saturday. Meanwhile, deputy foreign minister Kamaruddin Jaafar, who attended as a speaker at the webinar said the ALM will gather top-level politicians to engage in a constructive and inclusive dialogue to end the crisis in Myanmar once and for all. "We are hoping for a peaceful resolution to end the dispute," he said. "With the current situation in Myanmar, the government has decided to temporarily put on hold the deportation of Myanmar immigration detainees in Malaysia," he said. The deputy minister said that throughout 2020, Malaysia had deported over 30,000 foreigners including Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Myanmarese and other nationalities. He said it was part of the routine and ongoing efforts to address the problem of overcrowding of detention centres throughout the country. -- BERNAMA