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Call on the Malaysian government to treat the Acehnese arrested by the police with respect and grant them asylum on humanitarian grounds Media Statement by John Chung (Petaling Jaya, Tuesday): DAPSY urges the Malaysian government to treat the Acehnese who were arrested by the police this morning with respect and grant them asylum on humanitarian grounds. Malaysiakini had reported today that the Acehnese had escaped to Malaysia to seek asylum from the ongoing Indonesian-Aceh military conflict and were arrested outside the office compound of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) when attempting to obtain refugee status and third-country settlement. We urge the Malaysian government to show compassion and refrain from deporting the Acehnese back to their homeland as to do so would mean subjecting them to possible persecution or exposing them to human rights abuses. Instead, they should be allowed to remain in Malaysia on humanitarian grounds until the ongoing military offensive by the Indonesian government against the Free Aceh movement (GAM) forces has subsided and peace has been restored. Although the Malaysian government may not have ratified the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees, it can still and should choose to give heed to the principles laid down in the treaty, which have been recognized as customary international law, in according refugee status to the Acehnese, especially if it professes to be a caring government. We also urge the government to accord the same treatment to all Acehnese seeking refuge from the conflict, irrespective of whether they carry or do not carry the blue UN document signifying that they have obtained third-country settlement, as under international law, they should be afforded protection and not penalized. (19/8/2003) * John Chung, DAPSY International Secretary