Chin Human Rights Organization
2930 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 200-36, Berkeley, California, US 94705
Tel: +1.510.332.0983
www.chro.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Alexander
Regional Advocacy and Campaigns Officer
[email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel: +66.85.23.02.609
RELA BURNS DOWN REFUGEE SHELTERS IN MALAYSIA
25 January 2008
Putra Jaya, Malaysia: At least 75 Zomi refugees and asylum seekers originally from Chin State, Burma are now homeless and distraught after government-authorized forces in Malaysia burned down their jungle shelters earlier this week in Putra Jaya. This is the latest of many well-documented acts of abuse committed by the authorities against the refugee community in Malaysia.
The raid began around 7 am on 20 January when more than 30 RELA members violently stormed the make-shift campsite and burned it to the ground. The material possessions of the camp residents- plastic sheeting for shelter, pots and pans for cooking, donated articles of clothing and food rations, and Christian Bibles- were reduced to ashes. For a community already living on the margins of survival, the consequences are devastating.
“Nothing is left for any of them. Nobody knows what they should do, where they should go for shelter, how they can overcome this…They are left with nothing,” reported one Zomi Chin leader who recently visited the residents and their burned out campsite.
For years, the refugees and asylum seekers from Burma have taken shelter in the jungles surrounding Kuala Lumpur to escape the harassment and abuse by RELA security forces. Night-time neighborhood raids occur regularly in Kuala Lumpur’s urban areas. Although in hiding, the communities living in the jungle are not immune to such abuses. Over the course of four years, the camp in Putra Jaya had been raided three times by RELA.
According to the camp leader, “None of the raids in the past compare to this. We are empty-handed now. We lost everything- no cooking pots, no food, no clothes, no hope.”
The raid was conducted by Malaysia’s controversial RELA or the People’s Volunteer Corps, an untrained, volunteer civilian unit with security enforcement powers. RELA has come under increasing criticism by members of the international community and human rights organizations for reckless conduct and abusive actions during raids. Despite such criticism, RELA is slated to take over all of Malaysia’s immigration facilities during this next year. The transition of authority has already started in some facilities, raising concerns among the refugee community who fear the takeover will lead to increased abuses with greater impunity.
BACKGROUND
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes in Chin State, Burma to escape severe ethnic and religious persecution committed by the military regime of Burma. They arrive in Malaysia in search of some sense of security. Currently, there are over 23,000 asylum seekers and refugees from Burma’s Chin State living in Malaysia. Instead of finding safety, they are the constant target of harassment, arrest, detention, and deportation by the Malaysian authorities. In addition, they are unable to work, receive an education, access healthcare services, or find acceptable living accommodations. With the UNHCR general registration process closed since July 2005, obtaining refugee status or any protective documents from the UNHCR is difficult. As a result, life for the refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia is full of abuses and uncertainties.
For more information, please visit Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) on the web at www.chro.org or contact Amy Alexander at [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or +66.85.230.2609.