An aid flotilla carrying food and emergency supplies for Rohingya Muslims will sail from Malaysia for Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state next month, a Malaysian organizer said Friday. But some fear a confrontation with security forces at sea, as the organizers vowed to go ahead with their plans even if they are not granted permission to enter Myanmar.
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The Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations secretary general Zulhanis Zainol said the flotilla's organizers had applied for permission to enter Myanmar through its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, but had yet to receive a reply.
"Even if we do not receive a response, we will continue to sail as we believe this is an important humanitarian mission," he said. A showdown with security forces could worsen Myanmar's already-frayed ties with predominantly Muslim Malaysia.
Malaysia has been an outspoken critic of the Myanmar government's handling of a violent crackdown in Rakhine, which has killed scores of people and displaced 30,0000 Rohingya amid allegations of abuses by security forces.
Myanmar's presidential office denied it had received a request and said it would not accept the flotilla's arrival without prior permission. "If they are looking for trouble, we will not accept that," Zaw Htay, spokesman for the presidential office, told Reuters.
"No non-Myanmar citizens can enter our body of water without our permission. If they do, we will respond — we will not attack them, but we will not receive them," he added.
The flotilla, departing from Malaysia on Jan. 10, would be carrying 1,000 tonnes of rice, medical aid and other essentials for the Rohingya population.
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Earlier this month, Malaysia urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as Asean, to coordinate humanitarian aid and investigate alleged atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims.
Both Malaysia and Myanmar are members of the 10-nation grouping, which has a longstanding policy of not getting involved in each other's internal affairs. An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Rohingyas, displaced by previous violence, live in Malaysia.
Myanmar has previously said access to Rakhine for humanitarian assistance would be open, but certain Rohingya communities have remained off-limits to aid agencies on security grounds.
The Malaysian initiative recalls the 2010 Marmara Flotilla to Gaza which was organized by a Swedish aid group and departed from Turkey to the Palestinian territory to deliver medical and food supplies and show solidarity against the Israeli blockade, in place since 2006.
A confrontation did occur then when the ship was boarded by Israeli troops, who killed nine unarmed people, including seven Turkish citizens.