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| Protesters make the three-finger salute and hold posters of Myanmar's detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to mark her birthday as they take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, June 19. AFP-Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
Four Myanmarese women who claim to have been persecuted by the Myanmar junta are seeking refugee status in Korea, according to their country's community here, Monday.
Yan Naing Htun, who leads the Korean chapter of Myanmar's National League for Democracy, said in a June 13 Facebook post that the four arrived at the Incheon International Airport, June 10, from Yangon International Airport, supposedly in transit to their final destination of Dubai.
But instead of heading for the Middle East country, the four, known to be in their 20s and 30s, applied for asylum here, submitting photos to the Korean authorities to prove they took part in pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar.
The four women's refugee applications are the first such case since the military coup took place in the Asian country in early February. Among them, one is reportedly from Mon State, while the other three are from Yangon.
But a controversy has arisen within the local Myanmar community as to whether they are really seeking political asylum as refugees, considering that having a passport is not common for the average person in Myanmar, especially among women. According to community leaders, they were not included on a "blacklist," a wanted list created by the junta to suppress democracy supporters.
The Ministry of Justice's Refugee Division said it could not confirm any information about them as per Article 17 of the Refugee Act, which prohibits the disclosure of the personal information of refugee applicants.
"The procedures of getting a passport itself is not only complicated but it also costs a lot. It's difficult for average Myanmarese women to have a passport and head for Dubai from Yangon, especially under the junta," said Chung Beum-rae, a co-representative of the Myanmar Democracy Network in Korea.
"Of course, the Korean government is urged to accept their refugee applications if it turns out that they have actually been politically persecuted and are currently seeking shelter here, but I believe the Korean authorities need to closely look into the case."
