Burma Campaign UK recently launched a campaign against the plan by Malaysia to hand over thousands of Rohingya refugees to the Burmese military.
Thankfully, the plan did not go ahead as planned. Not because Malaysia decided to do the right thing, but because the Burmese military refused to take them.
Almost 1,500 refugees and migrants from Burma were handed over to the Burmese military and taken back to Burma by three Burmese military warships. It does not appear Rohingya were included.
There is great concern for the safety of those handed over, and there are already unconfirmed reports that some have gone missing and may have been abducted and forcibly conscripted into the Burmese military.
The Burmese military’s refusal to take back Rohingya refugees is a humiliation for Malaysia. Malaysia rolled out the red carpet for Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Burmese military regime, expecting that giving him an official visit and the recognition he craved, he would agree to a deal.
For Malaysia it is a major political and diplomatic miscalculation. The government has damaged the international reputation of Malaysia by pandering to prejudice and being willing to hand victims of genocide over to the perpetrators of that genocide.
It has also lost out diplomatically by hosting Min Aung Hlaing. All they have done is reward and boost the person leading the Burmese military, which is the root cause of why Malaysia has a refugee crisis in the first place. Malaysia has been humiliated while the Burmese military boast about the visit in state media and across social media.
Malaysia is still officially saying that it will continue to send refugees back to Burma, in the context of growing anti-Rohingya prejudice and violence in Malaysia. However, since the Burmese military refused to take back Rohingya refugees, it is unclear how and when this will happen.