Rioters volunteer to leave Malaysia

Rioters volunteer to leave Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): All 84 people identified as instigators
of a riot at a Malaysian transit camp for Vietnamese boat people
last month have volunteered for repatriation, the national
Bernama news agency reported yesterday.

Camp Commandant DSP Lim Boon Boo was quoted as saying the 84
had enough of fighting repatriation and had given up hope of
being resettled in third countries.

"After the rabble-rousers were segregated, I counseled them
until they realized that there is no point in persisting with
their actions," he said.

Lim said 1,150 Vietnamese had registered with the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for voluntary
repatriation after the Jan. 18 riot at the Sungai Besi camp, in
which seven policemen and 17 Vietnamese were injured.