Thailand Eyes UN Human Rights Council Seat with Optimism

[Lite Beer]

Displaced Thais file charges against interior minister
By Digital Content

BANGKOK, Jan 31 -- After fighting for Thai citizenship over several years, a total of 351 displaced persons living in Tak province bordering Myanmar have filed charges against Interior Minister Gen Anupong Paojinda and three others with the Central Administrative Court and demanded Thai citizenship.

Four persons acting as representatives for the 351 displaced residents plus a group of lawyers on Friday, submitted complaints to the Central Administrative Court, accused the Gen Anupong Anupong, Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary and the director-general of the Provincial Administration Department, and the Committee on Thai Nationality of not considering and certifying the status which has been deprived them from being Thai citizens.

They charged that this had also affected the status of the rest of the Thais with Myanmar nationality and currently living in Tak province which is the fundamental right under the 2007 Constitution and was being cited at the time when the court approved the case.

The 351 displaced persons requested that the Court granted them and the rest in Tak the Thai nationality.

Surapong Kongchantuk, chairman of a Lawyers Council of Thaiand (LCT) subcommittee on the stateless, migrant workers and the displaced, said the resolution adopted by the interior minister and three others was inaccurate and not in line with historical facts.

Their resolution has affected displaced persons living in three districts of Tak province and these people needed justice from the Central Administrative Court, Mr Surapong added. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2015-01-31

[pisico]

2007 Constitution ? Good luck with that.

No matter what constitution is cited, if there is no respect for the Rule of Law, what's the point?

[halloween]

Demanding citizenship. Uh-huh.

[Costas2008]

"The 351 displaced persons requested that the Court granted them and the rest in Tak the Thai nationality."

It's 352........shouldn't I qualify after 8 years of living in Thailand?

May be this has something to do that I don't live in Tak but in KK?

[otherstuff1957]

A Thai fellow I know married a girl who is ethnic Thai - Thai Yai - who was born in Burma, but has lived in Thailand since she was a little girl.

I say married, but they only had the ceremony and party, not the official registration at the Amphur, because, after 20 or more years in Thailand, she is still a stateless person.

A Government official told her that she might have her citizenship application approved in the next decade or so, or next year if they contributed 200,000 baht under the table.

Edited January 31, 2015 by otherstuff1957

[starky]

"The 351 displaced persons requested that the Court granted them and the rest in Tak the Thai nationality."

It's 352........shouldn't I qualify after 8 years of living in Thailand?

May be this has something to do that I don't live in Tak but in KK?

costas I enjoy most of your lame attempts at humour but I imagine that most of the 351 displaced persons could at least read write and speak fluent Thai for a start... just living in Thai is a long way from getting you over the line my friend

[tbthailand]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

[samran]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

[jcisco]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

Well that does not appear to be the case here, so much that they have gotten to the point of lodging legal proceedings.

It is kinda embarassing that these people have not been made Thai at this day in age, if they aren't Thai send them back to their home country. If they do not have one, then welcome them in, hardly going to ruin the country, and if you mark the event for Tak province it will be the only time it will be done. So creep on more people coming forward.

[englishoak]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

Great you can be the perfect advisor for them then.

[tbthailand]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

First, ... based on some of the comments it was clear that some posters did not realize that these people are Thais...

Second, I have no idea about your case. It is obvious in this case, however, that these people have been trying for a rather long time. So far, unsuccessfully.

From that, it would seem that your case and their cases have some differences.

[halloween]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

First, ... based on some of the comments it was clear that some posters did not realize that these people are Thais...

Second, I have no idea about your case. It is obvious in this case, however, that these people have been trying for a rather long time. So far, unsuccessfully.

From that, it would seem that your case and their cases have some differences.

Do you understand the difference between race and citizenship? The citizenship of the claimants' parents is not clear from the OP, only that the claimants claim to be Thai race citizens of Myanmar. Allowing citizenship based on race is a slippery slope which has led to many conflicts such as Russian citizens in Ukraine, and Germans in the Sudetenland.

Children born in Thailand are not automatically entitled to Thai citizenship, as is the situation in Oz, which means the removal of illegal immigrants is not complicated by their procreation.

[tbthailand]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

First, ... based on some of the comments it was clear that some posters did not realize that these people are Thais...

Second, I have no idea about your case. It is obvious in this case, however, that these people have been trying for a rather long time. So far, unsuccessfully.

From that, it would seem that your case and their cases have some differences.

Do you understand the difference between race and citizenship? The citizenship of the claimants' parents is not clear from the OP, only that the claimants claim to be Thai race citizens of Myanmar. Allowing citizenship based on race is a slippery slope which has led to many conflicts such as Russian citizens in Ukraine, and Germans in the Sudetenland.

Children born in Thailand are not automatically entitled to Thai citizenship, as is the situation in Oz, which means the removal of illegal immigrants is not complicated by their procreation.

As I already pointed out, this article does not provide the basic information about these people and their situation.

So not only do I understand the difference between someone's heritage (not race, by the way) and citizenship, I have also read other articles which provide more detail.

[samran]

This article is not clear about one fact.

The people requesting citizenship are Thais, born outside of Thailand to Thai parents.

Just like I was. The law is clear on this and it should be as easy for these people as it was for me to claim citizenship.

First, ... based on some of the comments it was clear that some posters did not realize that these people are Thais...

Second, I have no idea about your case. It is obvious in this case, however, that these people have been trying for a rather long time. So far, unsuccessfully.

From that, it would seem that your case and their cases have some differences.

The law is clear. A child born to a Thai citizen is also a Thai citizen, regarless of where they were born.

The issue here, as differnet to mine, is not their case, but the government officals who actively work to deny them access to Thai citizenship.