Fleeing Thais put Malaysia in tight spot<\/p>\n
Jalil Hamid, Reuters\/Pengkalan Kubor, Malaysia<\/p>\n
Walking a diplomatic tight-rope, Malaysia gave an assurance on
\nFriday it would not immediately hand back 131 Thai Muslims who
\nfled across the border this week from troubled southern Thailand.<\/p>\n
The mainly Muslim nation, with cultural and religious links
\nwith Thailand's predominantly Muslim south, has taken the 64 men,
\n24 women and 43 children into immigration detention and is
\nstudying claims that they fled in fear of Thai security forces.<\/p>\n
"The initial reports we have seem to suggest that they fear
\nfor their life and so they have come to this side," Foreign
\nMinister Syed Hamid Albar told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n
The group, which crossed the porous border on Tuesday, is the
\nlargest to come to Malaysia seeking protection from violence in
\nsouthern Thailand, where tensions between many Muslims and Thai
\nsecurity forces have flared since January 2004.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, which chairs the world's largest body of Islamic
\nnations, is under some pressure domestically to treat the group
\nsympathetically. But it also risks upsetting Thailand which,
\naccording to Syed Hamid, has denied the group's claims.<\/p>\n
"I have spoken twice today to the Thai foreign minister and he
\nhas told me there is no truth to them," he said, referring to
\nmedia reports that the Thais were afraid to return home.<\/p>\n
In Bangkok, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sihasak
\nPhuangketkeow said the people were detained for "illegally
\nentering" Malaysia and would be interviewed by Malaysian
\nofficials, a process that could take up to two weeks. "They don't
\nhave any documents," Sihasak told reporters, while denying the
\ngroup's reported claims to be fleeing harassment by Thai soldiers
\nand police.<\/p>\n
In Kuala Lumpur, Syed Hamid said Malaysia had no formal
\nrefugee program but gave humane treatment to people fleeing from
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
"I think the responsibility is for the Thai side to ensure
\nthat they can overcome the fear -- whether real or perceived fear
\n-- in the local community in Thailand so that they will not come
\nhere," he said when asked if more Thais would cross the border.<\/p>\n
Malaysia's northern state of Kelantan, where the Thais crossed
\nthe border, has launched a fund-raising campaign to assist them,
\nstate-run news agency Bernama reported on Friday.<\/p>\n
At the Malaysian border town of Pengkalan Kubor, separated
\nfrom Thailand by a wide river, there was little sign on Friday of
\ntighter security promised in the wake of the mass crossing.<\/p>\n
The border post was quiet and the sound of Friday prayers
\nfilled the air from a mosque where the group had gathered and
\nwere arrested on Tuesday night for illegal entry.<\/p>\n
An official at the white, two-story mosque told Reuters he had
\nspoken to the Thais before their arrest and they had complained
\nof harassment by Thai military.<\/p>\n
A man at a shop next to the mosque said he had also spoken to
\nthe Thais: "They decided to escape because they can't sleep or
\nwork not knowing when the Thai army will come after them".
\nNeither the shop-keeper nor the mosque official would be named.<\/p>\n
A few Thai Muslims making routine visits to Malaysia also said
\nsome Muslims on the Thai side were in fear for their lives, but
\nspoke about the general violence, not about Thai security.<\/p>\n
Southern Thailand has been plagued by a campaign of bombings
\naimed at Thai forces and blamed by Bangkok on Muslim militants.
\nBangkok at times has complained that Thai militants slip across
\nthe border into Malaysia when they want to avoid arrest.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fleeing-thais-put-malaysia-in-tight-spot-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}