Samak Wants Rohingya Put On An Island

[taxexile]

Samak wants Rohingya put on an island

WASSANA NANUAM

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday the navy is exploring a deserted island to place Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group from Burma who illegally slipped into the country from the southern provinces, especially Ranong. Mr Samak said the relocation of the illegal migrants will be in the care of the Interior Ministry and the National Security Council, adding the resettlement of the Rohingya is a matter of urgency.

The prime minister made the statement after emerging from a two-hour meeting of the National Security Council yesterday.

''To stop the influx, we have to keep them in a tough place. Those who are about to follow will have to know life here will be difficult in order that they won't sneak in,'' he said.

Mr Samak said the United Nations (UN), especially the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), should step in and provide financial support to the Thai government which had shouldered the Rohingya burden for quite some time.

Although the Rohingya Muslims have nothing to do with the southern unrest, the influx must stop, Mr Samak added.

from the bangkok post

more here

[TopDogger]

Mr Samak said the United Nations (UN), especially the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), should step in and provide financial support to the Thai government which had shouldered the Rohingya burden for quite some time.

Good, but your a few days too early. Its only the 29th.

[elkangorito]

Alkatraz?

[sibeymai]

Are there any lepers there yet ? Better check first before marooning these people there. Oh, an don't forget to cut off the electricity and water and put a blockade in place.

Can someone please remind me which century this is.

Edited March 29, 2008 by sibeymai

[kmart]

Maybe a colony of handy scapegoats for when another tourist gets murdered?

[samgrowth]

Are there any lepers there yet ? Better check first before marooning these people there. Oh, an don't forget to cut off the electricity and water and put a blockade in place.

Can someone please remind me which century this is.

Just copying the Aussie.

[WaiWai]

Ooooooooh, kinda like Guantanamo Bay?

Did the UN send any Hollywood celebrities to Guantanamo? Only a hop, skip and jump away ...

[aussiejosh]

Are there any lepers there yet ? Better check first before marooning these people there. Oh, an don't forget to cut off the electricity and water and put a blockade in place.

Can someone please remind me which century this is.

Just copying the Aussie.

No we put them into a detention center you idiot. There is a difference between dumping them on an island and putting them in a detention center which we pay massive amounts of money to operate daily. They have a/cm eduction and medical assistance constantly we give them a lot and process them legally. I can't believe the total ignorance in your simple post.

As for making it as inhumane as possible, it wont deter them from leaving something that is already unimaginably inhumane, if anything its just a little bit more cruelty that Thailand is adding to their already harsh lives. Now, should we let everyone come and go as they please between? No, thats stupid. But making their lives worse is really just harsh, completely and utterly harsh.

But I do find it amusing Thailand actually outdid Burma on this one for human rights abuses "Lets tow them into the ocean and leave them all to die!" << nice policy...

"but we give them a can of rice and water" << prolong their slow and painful deaths YAY!

Doesn't negate the fact you towed them into the ocean to DIE.

There is a legal humane way to do things (Australia over does it abit with what we give them) and there is what we have seen happen recently.

[sriracha john]

Andaman Island Sites Readied for Boat People

THE THAI NAVY has confirmed that several islands have already been explored in readiness for building a detention centre for Burmese Muslim boat people.

The refugees, known as Rohingya, have been coming from their home state in northwest Burma to the Andaman coast in such large numbers that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej views the problem as a crisis of national security.

Phuketwan has been told that if the island detention centre is built, those who are held there will be fed just one meal a day and treated harshly to deter others from entering Thailand.

While the plan is still being debated at the highest levels of the national government, the Prime Minister is known to be in favor of the concept and wants to take a hard line.

Supreme Commander General Boonsrang Niampradit said that an alarming rate of Rohingya have been sneaking into Thailand.

"The graph is rising and it is worrying and we have to try to solve the problem," he said.

The islands that the Navy has examined in preparation for the go-ahead are all off Ranong and Phang Nga.

Details of the numbers of people involved and the nature of their sea journey continue to emerge.

As many as 1000 Rohingya have been detained, the latest boatload of 80 landing on Koh Kor Khao, near the Phang Nga village of Nam Khem, just last week.

The Thai Navy is concerned because, contrary to what Phuketwan was told earlier, the arrested Rohingya have so far been all men, aged 16 to 30.

Today we learned that human traffickers are said to be involved, carrying the men south from their home state of Rakhine in a large boat. The men are then transferred to smaller, less seaworthy boats.

People smugglers throughout Asia are known as ''snakeheads'' because of their disregard for the safety of the people they provide with often-unseaworthy transport.

If the influx is not dealt with harshly, Thai authorities fear thousands more Rohingya will follow in search of lowly-paid laboring jobs along the Andaman Coast.

Neighboring Bangladesh has previously accepted many of the Rohingya, who have been driven from Burma by lack of food and harsh treatment.

Others hoped to find a new home in Malaysia, a predominatly Muslim country.

But Malaysia has taken a tough stance, so many Rohingya have now turned to Thailand, where the treatment of illegal foreign workers has been more easy-going until now.

Illegally and legally, many Buddhist Burmese have come to work in Thailand for years, because the tourism construction industry has required large numbers of workers.

Some unscrupulous Thai employers encourage illegal laborers to come because they can be paid lower wages and are willing to put up with poorer living and working conditions.

But the influx of Muslims is seen as being different because of the existing separatist insurgency that is bringing death and destruction to Thailand's southernmost provinces.

PM Samak fears that if nothing is done, the Rohingya may keep coming in greater numbers.

While Buddhists and Muslims have lived in peace for a long time along the Andaman Coast, a large influx and greater competition for work could cause problems.

On the other hand, if a harsh island detention program raises the concern of human rights activists, other Muslims may grow angry in reaction.

Edited February 12, 2009 by sriracha john

[justanothercybertosser]

The refugees, known as Rohingya, have been coming from their home state in northwest Burma to the Andaman coast in such large numbers that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej views the problem as a crisis of national security.

Well known already.

And this government has defended this NSC/ISOC policy and actions. Regardless the talk - there is no practical difference between the Democrat policies towards the Burma issue, and TRT/PPP's policies. The only difference is that Samak was more arrogant than Abhsit in doing the exactly same thing.

[sriracha john]

The refugees, known as Rohingya, have been coming from their home state in northwest Burma to the Andaman coast in such large numbers that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej views the problem as a crisis of national security.

Well known already.

And this government has defended this NSC/ISOC policy and actions. Regardless the talk - there is no practical difference between the Democrat policies towards the Burma issue, and TRT/PPP's policies. The only difference is that Samak was more arrogant than Abhsit in doing the exactly same thing.

The differences sound quite profound. Samak certainly didn't consult with the Indonesians nor called for an international solution to the situation. He just advocated starving and isolating them.

Multi-nation meeting vital : Thai FM

Bangkok/Jakarta - Thailand and Indonesia yesterday agreed to a meeting of nations that are concerned with the plight of the Rohingya - an issue that drew global attention after reports said Thai security officials had abused them.

The summit could kick off as early as late March, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said after a two-hour meeting with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda. Both ministers believe that the problems with the Rohingya - a stateless Muslim minority residing in Burma's Rakhine State, with many reportedly forced into work camps - could be solved through discussions with the international community.

- The Nation / 2009-02-12

Edited February 12, 2009 by sriracha john

[PoorSucker]

Island, though place.

May I suggest Britain.

[henryalleman]

Island, though place.

May I suggest Britain.

A few million stay there already

[Miserere]

Are any of them good looking?...maybe they could do an offshore brothel?....this would help clean up Pattaya etc.