Malaysia finds graves of suspected trafficking victims

Indonesia claims most migrants stranded at sea are illegal Bangladeshi labourers, however begins search for migrant boats

Malaysian authorities said Sunday that they have discovered a series of graves in more than a dozen abandoned camps used by human traffickers on the border with Thailand, where Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar have been held.

Malaysian Home Minister Zahid Hamidi told reporters Sunday that police were trying to identify and verify “the mass graves that were found.”

“These graves are believed to be a part of human trafficking activities involving migrants,” he said, adding that police have found 17 abandoned camps that they believe were used by traffickers.

There was no immediate word on how many bodies had been recovered, or how old the alleged trafficking camps or graves were.

The finding follows a similar discovery earlier this month by police in Thailand, who unearthed at least 33 bodies from shallow graves on the Thai side of the border.

The grim discoveries are shedding new light on the hidden network of jungle camps run by traffickers who have for years held countless desperate migrants captive while extorting ransoms from their families.

The migrants and refugees who have fallen victim to the traffickers are from Myanmar and Bangladesh, part of a wave of people who have fled their homeland in hopes of reaching countries like Malaysia where they hope to find work.

BANGLADESHIS IN MAJORITY:

In the meanwhile, Indonesia has refuted Bangladesh’s claim that most of the Malaysia-bound migrants stranded on boats in the AndamanSea are Rohingyas from Myanmar. It claimed that 30 to 40 percent of the stranded migrants are Rohingyas while the rest are from Bangladesh.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had said that Indonesian officials told her during a meeting in Seoul that most of the stranded boat migrants were Bangladeshis, The Australian reported.

“They (Indonesians) believe there are about 7000 people at sea (and) they think about 30-40 per cent of them are Rohingyas, the rest are Bangladeshis; and they are not, in Indonesia’s words, asylum-seekers, they are not refugees, they are illegal labourers, they’ve been promised or are seeking jobs in Malaysia,” Bishop was quoted as saying by The Australian.

On Thursday, Bangladesh’s State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had said that most of the people on boats were Rohingyas, only a few were from Bangladesh.

Bishop told The Australian on Saturday that she was told by Indonesia’s Director-General of Multilateral Affairs Hasan Kleib that a boat carrying 600 people had 400 Bangladeshis aboard.

Dhaka, however, said that few Bangladeshis might have boarded the boats to head for Malaysia, but most of the migrants were Rohingyas.

“Those who are stranded may speak Bangla and may claim themselves to be Bangladeshis “but a close look at the women, children and old-people reveals that most of them are Rohingyas,” State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had told reporters in Dhaka.

SEARCH FOR BOATS:

In the meanwhile, Indonesia has begun search and rescue operations for stranded migrant boats carrying Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar, an official said Sunday, after it dropped a hardline policy of refusing them sanctuary.

Jakarta sparked international outrage by turning away vessels filled with desperate migrants, among thousands stranded at sea since a Thai crackdown on human-trafficking in early May threw the illicit trade into chaos.

Along with neighbouring Malaysia, the government changed approach Wednesday with an announcement that they would take in boat people provided they could be resettled or repatriated within a year.

While Indonesian fisherman have helped hundreds of stranded Rohingya and Bangladeshis to shore, so far there has been no official rescue effort from Jakarta.

However, four naval ships, two pontoons and a patrol aircraft have now been deployed in a search which started Friday evening, Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya said.

“We have officially received an order from President (Joko Widodo) to carry out search and rescue operations, whether in the Indonesian territory or international waters,” he said.