Burma Information Network- Japan (www.burmainfo.org)

Lawyer for Myanmar refugee, family to fight deportation

Shogo Watanabe, the lawyer representing a family of foreign nationals facing deportation, vowed Monday to continue to urge the government to award them special resident status, saying one of his clients will be sent to prison in Myanmar for being politically active in the pro-democracy movement if deported.

The Justice Ministry began deportation proceedings for Khin Maung Latt, the 46-year-old refugee, his 37-year-old Filipino wife, Maria Hope Jamili, and their daughters -- Demi, 9, and Michelle, 6 -- but has kept Khin Maung Latt in detention while releasing his wife and children from custody until Jan. 6, Watanabe said.

'Is it reasonable or humane for our country to press upon another country the responsibility of protecting this family?' he wrote in a letter recently sent to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa and other concerned authorities.

Khin Maung Latt arrived in Japan in 1988 to escape persecution by the military junta in Myanmar, and married Maria, who entered Japan on a forged passport.

The family has appealed the deportation orders of lower courts at the Supreme Court, after an application for refugee status was rejected, and Watanabe, the family and their supporters are seeking Khin Maung Latt's provisional release during the appeals process at the Supreme Court.

Watanabe, who also heads the Lawyers' Group for Burmese Refugees in Japan, argued that the family based in Tokyo's Ota Ward has built their entire lives in Japan. The children, who were born in Japan and only speak Japanese, are legally recognized as Filipinos like their mother.

The lawyer criticized Nozawa, who said at a recent Diet session that his ministry was basically preparing to deport the family to one country, presumably the Philippines. Watanabe also criticized the premier for not understanding refugee problems.

The family's case has attracted the interest of the public and media, and highlighted Japan's stringent immigration and refugee policies.

Supporters of refugees say Japan's refugee policy is inadequate, given that the country lacks an aid mechanism for refugees even though it has been a signatory to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees since 1981.

Government immigration statistics show that last year, 250 people applied for refugee status, but only 14 were successful. Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization People's Forum on Burma, which has been spearheading the campaign for Khin Maung Latt's cause and collecting signatures, puts the figure at nearly 30,000.