Locals contradict govt’s version on mass graves in Malaysia

Malaysia's government has expressed shock at finding human-trafficking camps and graves near the Thai border, but for local villagers the clues were right there in plain sight.

Sani is one of many residents of the remote area in Perlis state who say that starving illegal migrants -- some bearing signs of mistreatment -- have for years staggered from nearby thickly jungled hills, where a network of graves and camps was recently found.

Their accounts stand in stark contrast to those of Malaysian authorities -- long accused by activists of tolerating an abusive and deadly regional human-trafficking trade -- who claim the grisly discovery came as a surprise.

"I have lived here for 30 years and I have seen many Rohingya, and they are always in bad shape," said Sani, 80, referring to the Muslim Rohingyas who flee persecution in Myanmar.

Emaciated Rohingya routinely approach his small farm to beg for food, water and clothing.

"We do what we can. And if they are not able to stand or walk, we call the authorities who take them away," he said.

Malaysian police say a total of 139 gravesites and 28 recently abandoned camps had been found, capable of housing hundreds of people.

'BLINDERS AND EARMUFFS'

Malaysia's government initially denied such brutal sites could exist on its soil. "I am shocked," Home Minister Zahid Hamidi declared when announcing the discovery on Sunday.

But activists say they have fed authorities evidence for years, yet nothing was done.

"In Malaysia, they've had the blinders and earmuffs on and have let these networks operate with impunity," said Amy Smith, executive director of human rights group Fortify Rights.

The Malaysian police force is criticised by reform advocates as unprofessional, corrupt and prone to brutal treatment of detainees.

"For trafficking to grow to the scale it did, you must have strong players. You need traffickers, authorities and also local people involved," said Aegile Fernandez, of Malaysian migrant-rights group Tenaganita.

Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar vowed investigations would be pursued aggressively.

"If investigations reveal police, immigration, even the military or any other people were involved, we will not condone any of it," he told AFP.

MALAYSIAN COPS BEING PROBED

Malaysian police are investigating 12 of their officers to determine whether they had links to mass graves at human-trafficking camps found in the remote north, a top official was quoted as saying yesterday.

Four of the officers had been arrested during various police investigations since early last year, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar was quoted as saying by The Malaysian Insider news portal.

"We will have to see whether or not there are any links to the camps," Wan Junaidi was quoted saying. "Because the arrests were made in the north, we suspect there may be some connection."

US FOR FULL INVESTIGATION

The United States yesterday urged Malaysian authorities to carry out a full investigation into the grisly discovery of mass graves at human-trafficking camps and charge those behind the killings.

"We understand Malaysian law enforcement and security authorities are actively investigating these findings, and we encourage a transparent, credible and expeditious effort," a State Department spokesman told AFP.

"We urge Malaysian authorities to investigate fully these deaths and camps, and prosecute those responsible."

ANTI-ROHINGYA PROTEST IN MYANMAR

Several hundred Buddhist nationalists protested in Yangon yesterday against mounting international pressure for Myanmar to stem the exodus of Muslim Rohingya migrants and aid those still stranded at sea.

Demonstrators, including Buddhist monks, shouted "Don't insult our country!" and "There are no Rohingyas in Myanmar" in angry chants aimed mainly at the United Nations.