Concern for Rohingya refugees set to return to Myanmar

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on Thursday warned that Malaysian authorities plan to repatriate roughly 5,000 ethnic Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar. The decision came after Myanmar’s ruling military junta, known as the Tatmadaw, said it was willing to accept the mostly-Muslim minority group back into the country formerly known as Burma.

However, the U.S. commission urged Malaysian authorities to reconsider the move, saying the refugees would reenter an active war zone and come back under the authority of a government that persecuted them. The bipartisan commission also urged the State Department to directly contact Malaysian authorities and ask them not to repatriate the refugees.

Violence and human rights abuses in Myanmar were escalating rather than improving, the commission said. The Tatmadaw junta continued to strike civilian areas by air and violate religious freedom as defined by both international humanitarian laws and standards, it stated. Meanwhile, Malaysia was becoming increasingly hostile to roughly 126,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled there for safety, the commission said. Malaysian police recently detained more than 100 refugees who gathered at a UN office. The refugees sought the UN’s help after hostile locals in Penang state drove them out of their temporary homes, according to the commission.

Dig deeper: Read my report on recent sinking of boats carrying Rohingya refugees.