Myanmar will accept more Burmese migrants held in Malaysia “as soon as possible,” the war-torn nation’s leader said Thursday despite human rights concerns over the opaque repatriation scheme.
Min Aung Hlaing made the pledge on a visit to his counterpart in Malaysia, as he works to bring his country back into the international fold after staging a 2021 coup.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim invited Min Aung Hlaing, now installed as civilian president, for a two-day visit to discuss the return of thousands of migrants to his country.
Malaysia has historically offered safe haven to those exiled from Myanmar, hosting 190,000 refugees or asylum seekers from the nation -- mostly Rohingya -- according to the United Nations (UN).
But Anwar is making a repatriation push amidst an uptick of anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia, defying concerns from the UN that his scheme cannot guarantee their safe homecomings to Myanmar.
The country has been wracked by war since Min Aung Hlaing’s putsch, and there are fears the persecuted Rohingya may return to a country where they suffer violent persecution many deem genocide.
“We will take those verified nationals back as soon as possible,” Min Aung Hlaing said at a joint news conference with Anwar, in Putrajaya, the administrative capital.
Min Aung Hlaing has been a pariah in many capitals abroad since his putsch unleashed a civil war, but Anwar invited him for talks about returning Myanmar migrants.
Nearly 1,500 migrants arrived in back in Myanmar on Sunday after a five-day navy vessel voyage from Malaysia, where they were being held in detention centers before being shipped out.
Anwar in July announced that Myanmar agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya members, but the Malaysian government later said those sent back would be of “various ethnicities,” not only Rohingya.
Myanmar last month pledged “safe and dignified” returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after criticism from the UN and rights groups.
Min Aung Hlaing’s two-day trip also comes as he makes a push for diplomatic recognition after being installed in April as civilian president, following elections branded a charade by democracy watchdogs.
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said in July they were seeking “gradual” engagement with Myanmar.
The 11-nation organization has frozen Myanmar out of high-level summits since the coup, presenting a united front to pressure its leaders into engaging in its conflict resolution plan.
But analysts say the consensus is now fraying.
Malaysia marks the fifth Asean nation to host Min Aung Hlaing since he transitioned to ruling the country as nominally civilian president.
A five-point peace plan adopted by Asean’s leaders in April 2021, which among other things call for an immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, has shown very little signs of progress.
This was highlighted by a Myanmar military air strike late last month on a market in western Myanmar killing some 50 people -- one of the deadliest recent bombings of the civil war.
Said Anwar on Thursday: “We and (for) our part in Malaysia will do whatever is possible to make sure that we enhance this collaboration.”
The aim ultimately was to “take Myanmar as part of our community of nations without prejudice, and particularly in the context of Asean.”