Nearly 6,000 Rohingya refugees enter Thai waters: army

BANGKOK, Feb 7, 2013 (AFP) - Almost 6,000 Rohingya boat people fleeing communal violence in western Myanmar have illegally entered Thai waters since October, an army spokesman said Thursday.

Of the 5,899 Rohingya who entered Thai territory, 1,752 are now in Thai immigration holding centres, police stations or welfare shelters, according to the military's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC).

Some of the others were pushed back to sea, said ISOC spokesman Dithaporn Sasasamit, although he was unable to say how many.

newsjs

Thai authorities said last month that they were investigating allegations that some Rohingya arriving in Thailand had fallen into the hands of people traffickers with the involvement of army officials.

Activists say smugglers demand large sums of money from Rohingya to transport them illegally to Malaysia. Those who are unable to pay are sometimes forced into labour.

Officials have said that those Rohingya now in Thailand will be allowed to stay for six months in detention while the government works with the UN refugee agency to find third countries willing to accept them.

But they have threatened to turn away any more Rohingya refugees arriving.

Described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups in the world, Rohingya have for years trickled abroad to neighbouring Bangladesh and, increasingly, to Muslim-majority Malaysia.

Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship.

Buddhist-Muslim unrest has left at least 180 people dead and more than 110,000 displaced in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine since June 2012.

The UN estimates that about 13,000 boat people fled Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2012 with some dying during the perilous sea voyage.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-02-07

But they have threatened to turn away any more Rohingya refugees arriving.

Impossible. I am the real PM Yingluck said they would be treated humanely.

Edited February 7, 201313 yr by Pimay1

But they have threatened to turn away any more Rohingya refugees arriving.

Impossible. I am the real PM Yingluck said they would be treated humanely.

It takes talent to talk out of both sides of your face.

Edited February 7, 201313 yr by dcutman

are these arrivals considered part of the projected 24 mio. pax arrivals for 2013?

REFUGEES

'More than 5,000 Rohingya since Oct'

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Dithaporn Sasasamit, spokesperson for the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), said yesterday that up to 5,899 Rohingya migrants had sneaked into Thailand on 48 occasions since last October.

The Thai authorities have arrested 1,752 Rohingya migrants, of whom 1,442 were men and 310 women and children, and are undergoing legal procedure as per the 1979 Immigration Act. The men were put under the care of the Immigration Police Bureau in Songkhla and nearby provinces, while the women and children were at the Human Security and Social Development Office in Songkhla.

Dithaporn said that at a meeting on January 25, related agencies at the Foreign Ministry had resolved to gather all Rohingya migrants and provide them with shelter and welfare as per humanitarian principles. It was also decided that the agencies could get government funding via the National Security Council for a period of no more than six months.

Meanwhile, Thailand will try to resolve the problem by getting the Foreign Ministry to seek cooperation from the country of origin to issue documents confirming the migrants' citizenship for repatriation, while at the same time it will coordinate with other countries to seek resettlement. He confirmed that Thailand had no policy to provide shelter for the Rohingya and urged the Thai public to be the eyes and ears of the authorities and alert police about illegal entry.

-- The Nation 2013-02-08

Who counted the 6000 if they have only found 1500 odd? Did the navy count them and allow them in?

Isn't that possibly the most obvious question any journalist should ask?