Malaysia Expels Myanmar Nationals

The Malaysian government has repatriated 106 Myanmar nationals in defiance of a court order and an appeal by human rights groups.

However, the Kuala Lumpur government said there were no Rohingya refugees or asylum seekers among those deported.

Human rights groups say the deported Burmese include some ethnic minorities who have been persecuted in Myanmar.

They say the military has taken power in Myanmar. So sending them back now could put them at even greater risk.

But Malaysia says those deported are not refugees, and they have violated immigration laws.

According to BBC correspondents, the migrants were sent back from a Malaysian military base in three Myanmar Navy ships.

Earlier, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had issued a stay on the decision to deport Myanmar nationals.

"All those deported have voluntarily agreed to return, no one has been forcibly deported," Khairul Jaimi Dawood, director-general of Malaysia's immigration department, said in a statement. He said there were no Rohingya refugees or asylum seekers among those deported.

He echoed a statement from Malaysia earlier this month stating that no one who had registered with the UN refugee agency UNHCR was being sent back.

Earlier, authorities said 1,200 prisoners would be sent back. But later it was not clear why their numbers decreased.

The expulsion comes at a time when 130 NGOs have called on Myanmar's military government to stop selling all types of military or military equipment.

In an open letter, the NGOs said that if the equipment was sold or supplied, it could be used to torture Myanmar nationals.

Several countries have already imposed sanctions or reduced diplomatic ties with Myanmar.

But China and Russia, two of the world's largest arms suppliers, have ignored calls for sanctions in the past, and will not do so, says Jonathan Head, the BBC's Southeast Asia correspondent.