Malaysia launches high-level talks on migrant crisis
Kuala Lumpur, Thailand and Indonesia insist they will not take migrants in
United Nations warns that pushing the boats away could create a crisis of “floating coffins” and urged regional leaders to put human lives first
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia— Malaysia launched high-level talks with its neighbors on Sunday to try to solve the deepening problem of refugees stranded in boats off Southeast Asia’s shores, but there appeared to be no quick solution to the crisis.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman met with his counterpart from Bangladesh, Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, ahead of a meeting with the Indonesian and Thai foreign ministers scheduled for tomorrow, officials said.
But more than two weeks into a regional humanitarian crisis, the stance of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia remained unchanged — that none wants to take the migrants in, fearing that accepting a few would result in an unstoppable flow.
Myanmar, from where many of the migrants have fled, appears unwilling to engage in talks.
“I have already stated that we cannot afford to accept more of them, as a huge number already exist here — and so far no countries want to settle them,” Anifah was quoted as saying after Sunday’s talks by the online edition of Malaysia’s government-linked mass daily New Straits Times.
The Malaysian and Bangladeshi foreign ministers met in Sabah state on Borneo island as part of a pre-planned annual consultation between the two countries, officials said.
“We have to look at our own interests, too, our social and security problems — we have to take that into consideration,” Anifah said.
“We are asking Myanmar to join in finding a solution,” he said.
Boatloads of more than 2,000 migrants — ethnic Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis trying to escape poverty — have landed in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in recent weeks.
Aid groups estimate that thousands more are stranded at sea after a crackdown on human traffickers prompted captains and smugglers to abandon their human cargo.
Navy ships from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have in recent days intercepted boats packed with desperate, hungry migrants, giving them food and water and sending them away — a move that sparked international outrage.