Treat Acehnese Refugees with Compassion
Aliran is appalled by the Malaysian government's move to detain and possibly deport Acehnese refugees who had sought asylum at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office in Kuala Lumpur from possible persecution at home in Indonesia.
This is not only a brazen display of arrogance on the part of the Malaysian government, but also a reflection of its outright lack of human compassion. The manner in which they were detained suggests contempt for human suffering.
It is common knowledge that, in many cases, Acehnese who were sent back to Aceh had their fate sealed - in the sense that they were killed or injured in the midst of the sectarian conflict. Given this grim backdrop, to deport the Acehnese to Indonesia would be tantamount to signing their death warrants.
One would have expected our so-called caring government to extend its professed compassion to foreigners whose lives are in danger by allowing them a temporary stay in the country. The principle of human compassion and the right to life should reign supreme despite the government's problematic policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other ASEAN member nations.
In the past, we condemned other countries in the region that had failed to uphold the rights of refugees fleeing from countries such as Afghanistan or Iraq. In the same vein, we call on the Malaysian government to respect the rights of helpless refugees who have nowhere else to go.
Aliran Executive Committee
22 August 2003
This statement was sent to the local media including The Star, New Straits Times, and The Sun.
