Miriam Berger
May 2, 2020
Rohingya refugees stand in line to get food April 15 in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Shafiqur Rahman/AP)
Malaysia has rounded up and detained hundreds of undocumented migrants in what authorities said was part of an effort to maintain movement restrictions in the country and contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Human rights groups, however, criticized the arrests, which have included Rohingya refugees and children, and subsequent detentions, as the coronavirus spreads easily in such places as detention centers.
The United Nations urged Malaysia in a statement on Saturday to cease the campaign and release those locked up.
“The fear of arrest and detention may push these vulnerable population groups further into hiding and prevent them from seeking treatment, with negative consequences for their own health and creating further risks to the spreading of COVID-19 to others,” the international body said.
Human rights groups, however, criticized the arrests, which have included Rohingya refugees and children, and subsequent detentions, as the coronavirus spreads easily in such places as detention centers.
The United Nations urged Malaysia in a statement on Saturday to cease the campaign and release those locked up.
“The fear of arrest and detention may push these vulnerable population groups further into hiding and prevent them from seeking treatment, with negative consequences for their own health and creating further risks to the spreading of COVID-19 to others,” the international body said.
Malaysian authorities said they arrested 586 undocumented migrants on Friday, Reuters reported.
Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar have sought safety in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country. However, the government does not recognize a status for refugees and instead classes Rohingya as illegal immigrants.
In response to the criticism, Malaysia’s security minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said that arrests were needed to prevent people from moving around the country and that they conducted health screenings of those detained.
“Even though the migrants were living under lockdown, their presence here is still illegal,” Ismail Sabri said, according to Reuters.
Rohingya activists accused Malaysia of using the coronavirus as a pretext to scapegoat and crack down on their community.
“I have never expected Malaysia will treat us like [it is] now but sadly it is happening,” Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, told the Guardian. “I have only one message for Malaysians — restore your humanity.”
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