RI workers' settlement destroyed

RI workers' settlement destroyed

KUALA LUMPUR: Police raided an illegal squatter camp complete
with cable TV and a volleyball court in a jungle area near Kuala
Lumpur, tearing down scores of homes and arresting 167 Indonesian
workers, police said Wednesday.

Malaysian human rights group Suaram "strongly condemned" the
raid and said many of those arrested were believed to be from the
war-shattered Indonesian province of Aceh.

About 200 policemen backed by bulldozers launched the pre-dawn
swoop on the settlement about 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of
here, a police official told AP on condition of anonymity.

The Indonesians rounded up in Tuesday's raid did not have
valid work permits and would be deported, the official said. He
declined to say if those arrested were from Aceh, saying "the
operation is not targeted at those from Aceh but against illegal
migrants."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has urged
Malaysia to halt a crackdown against Acehnese people seeking
asylum from the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur. -- AP