Malaysia puts deportations to Myanmar on hold till after ASEAN meets - sources

By A. Ananthalakshmi and Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Reuters) - Malaysia decided on
Wednesday to postpone planned deportations to Myanmar until
after a proposed emergency regional summit to discuss the crisis
there brought on by a military coup, sources familiar with the
matter told Reuters.
Right groups raised concerns over the safety of deportees
when Malaysia sent back 1,086 Myanmar nationals on Myanmar navy
ships last month, just weeks after the military had seized power
in a Feb. 1 coup.
Detained in Malaysia for immigration offences, they were
deported despite a court order halting the plan. Rights groups
had told the court that children and asylum-seekers fleeing
persecution in Myanmar were among those being deported.
Three Malaysian sources familiar with the matter said the
decision to delay a plan to deport a second batch until after a
proposed meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to discuss the Myanmar crisis was taken at a cabinet
meeting on Wednesday.
The sources requested anonymity as they were not authorised
to speak to media.
Myanmar this month had offered to send three more navy ships
to pick up its people detained in Malaysia, one of the sources
said.
Malaysia's foreign ministry directed queries to the home
affairs ministry and immigration department, neither of which
responded to requests for comment.
Indonesia last week called on Brunei, the current chair of
ASEAN, to convene an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in
Myanmar, amid a violent crackdown on anti-coup protesters.
Malaysia backed Indonesia's call, but it is unclear whether, or
when, that meeting would be held.
Malaysia came under international pressure after sending
back the Myanmar nationals last month, with diplomats saying
Kuala Lumpur was legitimising the coup by accepting the junta's
proposal to take back the detainees.
Malaysia said the people deported last month were
undocumented migrants and did not include ethnic Rohingya
refugees or asylum-seekers.
But concerns have persisted as the U.N. refugee agency has
been denied access to detainees for more than a year to verify
their status.