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UN agency deeply concerned by arrest of Indonesian asylum seekers in Malaysia

UN agency deeply concerned by arrest of Indonesian asylum seekers in Malaysia

The United Nations refugee agency voiced deep concern today over the arrests of Indonesian Acehnese asylum seekers outside its office in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and called on the authorities to grant temporary protection to all civilians fleeing the conflict in the Indonesian province.

“The Malaysian Government’s actions undermine the right to seek asylum as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” a spokesman for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Kris Janowski, told a news briefing in Geneva.

“UNHCR calls upon the government to allow all asylum seekers safe access to the UNHCR compound and stands ready to work with the Malaysian authorities to ensure asylum seekers and refugees are differentiated from illegal migrants and dealt with in accordance with international principles,” Mr. Janowski added.

He said Malaysian police detained another 40 asylum seekers in front of UNHCR’s Kuala Lumpur office today as they tried to approach it after arresting 400 in similar circumstances last week, effectively preventing them from exercising their right to seek protection and asylum from the conflict between the Indonesian Government and the Free Aceh Movement.

Noting that UNHCR had been allowed to see and register those arrested, Mr. Janowski said: “We welcome the Malaysian Government’s decision to allow us to access, but we continue to be deeply concerned by the continuing arrests. We are urging the Malaysian authorities to grant temporary protection to all Acehnese civilians fleeing the conflict, including those detained last week.”