Border Passes Beeing Abused, End It : Officials

[george]

CAMBODIAN TIES/ ILLEGAL WORKERS

Border pass agreement being abused, end it, officials say

SA KAEO: -- Officials at the Aranyaprathet border crossing want the prime minister to cancel an agreement with Cambodia allowing its citizens to travel to Prachin Buri province with only a border pass.

Pol Col Wisith Nakhata, deputy commander of the provincial police, said since the signing of the agreement late last year there had been an influx of Cambodian workers who pass themselves off as tourists or use fake border passes to enter other parts of the country via Prachin Buri.

Pol Col Wisith said under the agreement Cambodian travellers were not allowed to travel beyond Prachin Buri and could only stay in Thailand for a maximum seven days at a time.

It was part of the effort to promote tourism between the two countries.

Many of these visitors had been taken to work in other provinces by gangs of human traffickers, he said.

``I have discussed the problem several times at local meetings but no solutions were found, that's why I want the government to revoke the agreement as quickly as possible,'' he said.

Since the agreement was put in place, he said, many Cambodian workers had also been arrested for drug trafficking. ``They bring in methamphetamine pills for drug dealers in Thailand.''

A senior military officer at the Aranyaprathet-Sa kaeo road checkpoint, who asked not to be named, also said the agreement was doing more harm than good to the country.

It was due to expire in November, but he thought it should be cancelled long before them.

According to information he received, most of the illegal Cambodians were taken to work in factories in Bangkok, Chanthaburi, Chon Buri, Rayong, Samut Prakarn, and Trat provinces.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-08