Kuala Lumpur — Malaysia Starts Sending Myanmar Nationals Home

Malaysia sent about 1,500 Myanmar nationals back to Myanmar on Tuesday, the government confirmed, opening a repatriation program that the United Nations and rights groups warn could put migrants and asylum seekers in danger. The interior ministry confirmed the operation was under way, according to Agence France-Presse, which reported the developments from Kuala Lumpur.

What happened at the Lumut naval base?

AFP reporters saw three Myanmar navy ships, previously used in an earlier repatriation exercise, depart Malaysia's Lumut naval base on Tuesday afternoon. Myanmar nationals were processed at the base before boarding dozens of buses. The buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium, AFP reported.

How many Myanmar nationals are being sent back?

Tuesday's group of roughly 1,500 people is the first installment of a total of 5,000 Myanmar nationals Kuala Lumpur says agreed to leave detention centers under the program. Neither Malaysia nor Myanmar has clarified how many Rohingya people are in the first group.

By the numbers:

• 1,500 — Myanmar nationals repatriated in Tuesday's first group
• 5,000 — total Myanmar nationals Malaysia plans to send back
• 190,000 — Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, per the UN
• Two-thirds — share of that population who are Rohingya, per the UN

Why are the UN and rights groups concerned?

Both the UN and advocacy organizations raised concerns on Tuesday that the group could face a dangerous homecoming. Myanmar has been in civil war since 2021. Rights groups say Rohingya face persecution in Myanmar that amounts to genocide, raising fears that returnees could be sent back into the conditions many fled.

Who are the Rohingya being returned?

The Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, make up roughly two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers registered in Malaysia, according to the UN. Many arrived in Malaysia after a military crackdown in 2017 that drove large numbers of Rohingya out of Myanmar.

What does Malaysia call this program?

Kuala Lumpur describes the repatriations as "voluntary," saying the Myanmar nationals involved agreed to return home from detention centers.

Kuala Lumpur says the 5,000 Myanmar nationals slated for return agreed to "voluntary" repatriation from detention centres.

The program comes amid what AFP described as a sharp rise in anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia.

What happens next?

Malaysia's interior ministry has confirmed the first group has departed, but the government has not detailed a timeline for moving the remaining roughly 3,500 people covered by the 5,000-person plan. Neither Kuala Lumpur nor Naypyidaw has released a breakdown of how many in the initial group are Rohingya, leaving open the scale of exposure to the persecution concerns raised by the UN and rights organizations.

For continuing coverage of this story, see The Guardian's original report, sourced from Agence France-Presse reporting in Kuala Lumpur.

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