MFA affirms Thailand has long been helping Rohingyas

[webfact]

MFA affirms Thailand has long been helping Rohingyas

BANGKOK, 21 May 2015 (NNT) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to international calls for Thailand to assist Rohingya migrants, saying the Kingdom has already been doing so.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai echoed the Prime Minister’s statement that Thailand is not being indifferent to the plight of the Rohingyas as humanitarian aid has continuously been extended to them. Similar to neighboring countries, he said Thailand has been reaching out to the migrants as necessary while those entering the country illegally have been treated appropriately in compliance with the law.

Mr Don indicated that the international community’s request for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to jointly take care of the Rohingyas was understandable and was not a surprise. Nonetheless, he affirmed Thailand has already been doing its part, especially after the imposition of Section 44 which has led to more serious suppression of human trafficking.

In regard to the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean to be hosted by Thailand on May 29, a total of 17 countries and 3 international organizations have confirmed their attendance.

Mr Don said there will be discussions on all issues related to Rohingya migrants, from the assistance of those stranded at sea to the provision of shelters for those arriving on the shore as a short-term solution and the search for long-term solutions to stop their migration.


-- NNT 2015-05-21

[rametindallas]

Yes, Thailand has long been helping the Rohingya. The story below is from Reuters December 1, 2013 (near the end of the Yingluck administration)

Thai immigration officials said he was being deported to Myanmar. In fact, they sold Ismail, 23, and hundreds of other Rohingya Muslims to human traffickers... Ismail was one of five Rohingya who said that Thai immigration officials had sold him outright or aided in their sale to human traffickers. "It seemed so official at first," said Ismail, a wiry farmer with a long narrow face and tight curly hair. "They took our photographs. They took our fingerprints. And then once in the boats, about 20 minutes out at sea, we were told we had been sold."... The Rohingya are then transported across southern Thailand and held hostage in a series of camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay thousands of dollars to release them... The Thai authorities say the movement of Rohingya through their country doesn't amount to human trafficking. But in interviews for this story, the Thai Royal Police acknowledged, for the first time, a covert policy called "option two" that relies upon established human-smuggling networks to rid Thailand of Rohingya detainees... Presented with the findings of this report, Thailand's second-highest-ranking policeman made some startling admissions. Thai officials might have profited from Rohingya smuggling in the past, said Police Maj-Gen Chatchawal Suksomjit, Deputy Commissioner General of the Royal Thai Police. He also confirmed the existence of illegal camps in southern Thailand, which he called "holding bays"... Tarit Pengdith, chief of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the U.S. FBI, was also asked about the camps Reuters discovered. "We have heard about these camps in southern Thailand," he said, "but we are not investigating this issue."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/05/us-thailand-rohingya-special-report-idUSBRE9B400320131205

Notice those interviewed were all Yingluck's Thaksin's Boy in Brown and DSI Chief Tarit. No reports of military involvment. I wonder what the Thaksin Trolls will say to this. Come on boys, I know you can twist this to make it PM Prayut's fault.

Edited May 20, 2015 by rametindallas

[NongKhaiKid]

Of course they have, does anyone have any doubts ?

[alfalfa19]

helping into mass graves

helping to get employment on slave fishing ships (on internship basis)

helping them to get in touch with family members, to secure ransom payment, lest they be helped into mass graves

helping them by towing their vessels into international waters after disabling the engine

[Thaddeus]

Like helping your grandma find peace by pushing her off a cliff.

[FangFerang]

This story makes me puke. Even the current govt refused to do anything about this issue until Reuters, and investigative report by a Thai news channel (unheard of in my experience, and which was threatened immediately), and a threat of trade sanctions scared someone in the vital organ -- their bank accounts.

Thailand has not done anything more recently than telegraphed that next week a human trafficking offensive was coming -- so THE CAMPS COULD EVACUATE.

Sorry, no arrests. The traffickers were probably illegal Burmese from one of the Kohs...

[DM07]

Unbelievable!

Unbe- forking- lievable!