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Dozens of human rights groups have called on Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to address hate speech and violent threats against Rohingya refugees in the country amid a series of online posts that threaten murder and sexual violence. .
Monday’s open letter, signed by 83 organizations, said the increase in hate messages attacking the Rohingya community was causing fear of physical violence and discrimination among refugees.
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“We urge you to act immediately to address the recent proliferation of ‘hate speech’ and violent threats against the Rohingya community and to ensure that incendiary rhetoric does not trigger discriminatory acts or physical attacks,” the letter says.
Signatories included Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International Malaysia, Article 19 and the International Commission of Jurists.
Online posts targeting Rohingya in the country included discriminatory and dehumanizing language and images, and some users threatened prominent Rohingya activists as well as their followers with murder and sexual violence, the groups said.
Numerous online petitions for Rohingya’s expulsion were also launched on Change.org, Avaaz and other platforms, with some obtaining thousands of signatures. While Facebook, Twitter, Change.org and Avaaz have removed some of the content, new posts and petitions containing hateful and discriminatory content continue to appear, according to the letter.
The increase in hate speech was fueled by claims that the Rohingya demanded citizenship or other legal rights in Malaysia, according to the letter. It also stems from a decision by the Malaysian government in early April to roll back ships carrying Rohingya refugees trying to land in the country.
Human rights groups have previously expressed concern that coronavirus blockades in Southeast Asia could trigger a repeat of the 2015 crisis when a crackdown in Thailand led smugglers to abandon their human cargo at sea.
Human Rights Watch, in a separate statement, said the Muhyiddin government, which came to power in late February, “has fallen entirely on the job when it comes to protecting the rights of Rohingya refugees.”
“First, the government pushed a hungry refugee boat and then remained silent as a massive hate speech campaign raged against the Rohingya, threatening violence against people fleeing crimes against humanity and genocide at the hands from the Myanmar military, “he said.
“To date, the Malaysian government has done little to stem this cascade of violent threats against Rohingya leaders, resulting in the refugee community fearing even going out to buy food and other basic supplies they need to survive the confinement. of COVID-19 “.
The government sent conflicting messages, the letter said with Defense Minister and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressing sympathy for the Rohingya on April 27 and urging the Malays to be “peaceful” and “considerate”, avoiding the accusations that they could foster anger.
But that message was undermined on April 30, when Interior Minister Hamzah Zainudin issued a statement that emphasized the Rohingya’s lack of legal status or rights in Malaysia and justified measures “to stop the intrusion of illegal immigrants.”
“Rohingya citizens who hold the card of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees have no status, rights or basis to make any claims to the government,” he said. “The government does not recognize their status as refugees but as illegal immigrants.”
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, and asylum seekers cannot work or send their children to school. However, the Kuala Lumpur office of the UN refugee agency has more than 178,900 people registered as refugees in Malaysia, with a significant number of Rohingya.
The signatories to Monday’s open letter called on the Malaysian authorities to “ensure that threats and other human rights abuses against the Rohingya and their supporters are investigated, and that those responsible are held to account.”
“The government should publicly condemn all forms of violence and hatred directed at the Rohingya,” said Amy Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “The campaign against the Rohingya in Malaysia is dangerous, vulgar and inconsistent with Malaysia’s human rights obligations.”
The majority of Myanmar Buddhists do not recognize Rohingya as citizens and face severe restrictions on freedom of movement, as well as access to health care and education. Myanmar denies having persecuted the Rohingya and says they are not an indigenous ethnic group but immigrants from South Asia, despite the fact that many Rohingya can trace their ancestry back centuries.
More than a million Rohingya refugees live in camps in southern Bangladesh, most of whom were deported from their homes in Myanmar after a 2017 military offensive.
