At the end of 1997, 5,000 ethnic Rohingya refugees from Burma remained in Malaysia. Malaysia also hosted nearly 200 refugees of other nationalities. An unknown number of Indonesian Acehnese lived in Malaysia in refugee-like circumstances, as did up to 500,000 Filipino Muslims. Asylum Seekers from Indonesia At the end of 1996, Malaysia had threatened to deport 300 asylum seekers from Indonesia's Aceh province after 53 Acehnese rioted at a Malaysian detention center. UNHCR reported that it had not screened the Acehnese for refugee status, and the Malaysian government had not granted them any sort of resident status. However, Malaysia did not deport the Acehnese. UNHCR has recognized as refugees only a few of the several thousand Acehnese in Malaysia. During the year, 11 new Acehnese asylum seekers approached UNHCR, but it denied all refugee status. However, UNHCR extended its mandate to eight other Acehnese who had occupied the Swiss and Dutch embassies in December 1996, and it accepted another three cases on appeal. UNHCR reported it was unaware of any forced returns to Indonesia. Filipino Muslims As many as 500,000 Filipino Muslims remained in Malaysia at the end of the year, most in the largely Muslim southern province of Sabah. Many entered Malaysia to escape the long-standing conflict between Muslim insurgents and the Philippine military. The Filipino Muslims have complained that the Christian, mostly Catholic, majority in the Philippines treats Muslims as second-class citizens. In August 1996, the Philippine government concluded a peace agreement with the Muslim Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which included the establishment of a semi-autonomous region, comprised of four predominantly Muslim provinces, on the Philippine island of Mindanao. During 1997, the two countries began discussing the future of the Filipino Muslims in Sabah, and in November Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad of Malaysia assured a Muslim political leader from the Philippines that the return of the Filipino Muslims will be gradual. The governor of the new Philippine semi-autonomous region, Nur Misuari, expressed concern that the return of this population before housing and jobs were available could make them vulnerable to extremist groups opposed to the peace process. The Malaysian leader told Misuari that the return would be conducted in stages to give Misuari time to establish shelters and jobs for them. Some of the Filipinos in Sabah have found jobs that entitle them to stay in Malaysia, according to a Philippine government official. Other Developments In February, Prime Minister Mohammad asked the government of Burma to help Malaysia deport 8,000 Burmese "illegal immigrants," presumably including the 5,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Mohammad said Malaysia is having difficulty deporting the Rohingyas because Burma does not consider the population to be its citizens.
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