Australia, Malaysia ink refugee deal
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
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MALAYSIA and Australia sealed a pact yesterday to swap refugees in a contentious new strategy aimed at deterring asylum seekers from undertaking perilous boat journeys to Australia.
The deal will see Australia send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia over the next four years in exchange for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees currently languishing in this Southeast Asian nation.
Both governments announced the deal in May but were forced to fine-tune it amid objections by opposition politicians in their countries and human rights groups that criticize the treatment of about 93,000 refugees now living in Malaysia, which has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees.
Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen signed the agreement at a Kuala Lumpur hotel, where about 15 opposition-backed activists gathered to protest the plan.
Bowen called it a "bold and cutting-edge deal," adding that the 800 asylum seekers sent by Australia will be allowed to legally work in Malaysia and have access to education and health care, unlike the refugees already here.
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Canberra that the deal would "smash the people smugglers' business model."
"My message to anyone who is considering paying money to a people smuggler and risking their life at sea and perhaps the lives of their family members as well, is do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia," Gillard said.
Australia has long drawn people from poor, war-ravaged places hoping to start a new life, with over 6,200 asylum seekers arriving by boat last year. Most are from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Iraq, and use Malaysia or Indonesia as a transit point for traveling to Australia.
Hishammuddin pledged that asylum seekers sent to Malaysia would be treated according to the UN refugee agency's international standards. They will be placed at a processing center for six weeks before being allowed to live in public.
"The allegation that Malaysia is not fair toward refugees in this country is completely untrue," Hishammuddin said. He declined to say why Malaysia was allowing the 800 asylum seekers better conditions compared to the current refugee population.
Most of the refugees now in Malaysia are Myanmarese people who fled persecution in their country. They survive on odd jobs but are not officially allowed to work or attend public schools. Rights advocates have said some are also arrested as illegal immigrants and risk being whipped with a rattan cane.
The deal will see Australia send 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia over the next four years in exchange for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees currently languishing in this Southeast Asian nation.
Both governments announced the deal in May but were forced to fine-tune it amid objections by opposition politicians in their countries and human rights groups that criticize the treatment of about 93,000 refugees now living in Malaysia, which has not signed the UN Convention on Refugees.
Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen signed the agreement at a Kuala Lumpur hotel, where about 15 opposition-backed activists gathered to protest the plan.
Bowen called it a "bold and cutting-edge deal," adding that the 800 asylum seekers sent by Australia will be allowed to legally work in Malaysia and have access to education and health care, unlike the refugees already here.
Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Canberra that the deal would "smash the people smugglers' business model."
"My message to anyone who is considering paying money to a people smuggler and risking their life at sea and perhaps the lives of their family members as well, is do not do that in the false hope that you will be able to have your claim processed in Australia," Gillard said.
Australia has long drawn people from poor, war-ravaged places hoping to start a new life, with over 6,200 asylum seekers arriving by boat last year. Most are from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iran and Iraq, and use Malaysia or Indonesia as a transit point for traveling to Australia.
Hishammuddin pledged that asylum seekers sent to Malaysia would be treated according to the UN refugee agency's international standards. They will be placed at a processing center for six weeks before being allowed to live in public.
"The allegation that Malaysia is not fair toward refugees in this country is completely untrue," Hishammuddin said. He declined to say why Malaysia was allowing the 800 asylum seekers better conditions compared to the current refugee population.
Most of the refugees now in Malaysia are Myanmarese people who fled persecution in their country. They survive on odd jobs but are not officially allowed to work or attend public schools. Rights advocates have said some are also arrested as illegal immigrants and risk being whipped with a rattan cane.
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