House committee slams Thai police for arresting, defrocking Cambodian monk

[webfact]

Photo from Radio Free Asia

 

Thailand’s House committee, tasked with scrutinising a bill against torture and enforced disappearances, has cried foul over Tuesday night’s arrest and defrocking of a monk by Thai immigration police, prior to his deportation back to Cambodia.

 

The committee’s spokesperson, who is also deputy spokesperson of the Democrat party, Siripa Intavichein, told the media at the parliament today (Thursday) that the committee received a complaint from on behalf of the Cambodian monk about his arrest and the fact that he has been granted refugee status, adding that she has received confirmation from both the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) office in Thailand and Human Rights Watch of the monk’s situation.

 

Siripa further said that the Swiss embassy in Bangkok has issued an emergency visa for the monk to seek refuge in Switzerland, to avoid being deported back to Cambodia, where he faces an uncertain but possibly dangerous future.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/house-committee-slams-thai-police-for-arresting-defrocking-cambodian-monk/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-12-03

 

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[edwinchester]

I wonder if UNHCR Thailand will condemn this? I think I already know the answer.

[Aussie999]

UNHCR Thailand should be shamefully closed, as an insult to humanity.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Siripa further said that the Swiss embassy in Bangkok has issued an emergency visa for the monk to seek refuge in Switzerland, to avoid being deported back to Cambodia, where he faces an uncertain but possibly dangerous future.

Just wondering what he did in Cambodia that forced him to flee and seek refugee status in another country?

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, Aussie999 said:

UNHCR Thailand should be shamefully closed, as an insult to humanity.

Care to explain. They do try and stand up for peoples rights including migrants but this country, as much as they say they care, do not.  The only think this Government is concerned with is the ranking they recieve and the condemnation on the annual trafficking of persons report.

[ThailandRyan]

23 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Just wondering what he did in Cambodia that forced him to flee and seek refugee status in another country?

It is his level of Buddhism and the way he speaks out that has created the hostility towards him in Cambodia as well as here.  They say he does not act like a Monk.

[Oxx]

The monk's name is apparently Bor Bet.  There's a fair bit about his background at https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_activist-monks-flee-cambodia-fearing-arrest-defrocking/6199517.html

[mikebell]

He was lucky the Thai police didn't wrap him in Clingfilm before posting him back to Hun Sen.

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, edwinchester said:

I wonder if UNHCR Thailand will condemn this? I think I already know the answer.

There is no UNHCR Thailand per se, ie., as a government agency. UNHCR has a "representation" in Thailand as a nongovernment organization.  What UNHCR Thailand says about this incident is irrelevant to the Thai government.

There is a government Thailand HRC. But it is, as of the 2017 "reconstitution constituion," completely "defanged" of any independent political power. It was decertified by the UNHRC.

[Srikcir]

The linked article makes no mention of whom allegedly defrocked the monk. However, the ASEANNOW.com byline appears to indicate the Thai Police defrocked the monk. If so,  that would be inappropriate as such would be the duty of the Thailand Council of Buddhists to initiate such an action.

But the monk is from Mynamar where he likely was initiated as a monk (really unknown where). From that perspective it would seem a Mynamar Buddhist oversight council would be the authority to defrock the monk.

So the frocking story is confusing.

[Oxx]

5 hours ago, Srikcir said:

the Thai Police defrocked the monk

The monk had already been defrocked by the Cambodian authorities, ergo he was fraudulently posing as a monk whilst in Thailand, hence the need to get him to take off monastic robes.

[zzaa09]

10 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

UNHCR Thailand should be shamefully closed, as an insult to humanity.

Just as all the Western based human rights organizations might be. 

Are we beginning to learn that they all come from the same spawn and act accordingly? 

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, Oxx said:

The monk had already been defrocked by the Cambodian authorities, ergo he was fraudulently posing as a monk whilst in Thailand, hence the need to get him to take off monastic robes.

Thanks, that needed to be stated in the article. 

[khaowong1]

11 hours ago, Srikcir said:

The linked article makes no mention of whom allegedly defrocked the monk. However, the ASEANNOW.com byline appears to indicate the Thai Police defrocked the monk. If so,  that would be inappropriate as such would be the duty of the Thailand Council of Buddhists to initiate such an action.

But the monk is from Mynamar where he likely was initiated as a monk (really unknown where). From that perspective it would seem a Mynamar Buddhist oversight council would be the authority to defrock the monk.

So the frocking story is confusing.

I agree, I don't believe the Thai immigration police have the authority to de-frock him.  

[Artisi]

21 hours ago, Srikcir said:

The linked article makes no mention of whom allegedly defrocked the monk. However, the ASEANNOW.com byline appears to indicate the Thai Police defrocked the monk. If so,  that would be inappropriate as such would be the duty of the Thailand Council of Buddhists to initiate such an action.

But the monk is from Mynamar where he likely was initiated as a monk (really unknown where). From that perspective it would seem a Mynamar Buddhist oversight council would be the authority to defrock the monk.

So the frocking story is confusing.

Confusing yes, but certainly gets a lot of attention/clicks and advertising mileage .

[Artisi]

14 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Thanks, that needed to be stated in the article. 

But conveniently left out, see previous post. 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Artisi