Handling of Rohingya issue was embarrassing

[oneday]

"...for fear their reports would tarnish the country's reputation..."

No worries here. The current government has already shot Thailand's "reputation" full of holes and continue to do so everyday.

[zydeco]

Another one who fails to recognize that these people are not all Rohingya, indeed it would now seem that the majority are from Bangladesh and are on these boats because of promises of jobs and a better life.

Sure the ones at sea must be found to save their lives, but where to from there, can Thailand really be expected to just take them in ?

They have all been taken advantage of by criminals and the priority should be to go after those criminals whoever they are and make sure this can never happen again.

Forget window dressing that makes it look nice for the UN, US or anyone else, what they think should be the last consideration.

Do you have a source showing that most are Bangladeshi? I am curious because the Myanmar gov't considers them to be Bangladeshi even though they live in Myanmar but Bangladesh does not. There are some rather large refugee camps for Rohinghyas in Bangladesh.

If he doesn't, I have this article. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-23/bishop-says-most-of-7000-stranded-people-are-labourers/6491836

Not a credible source. Somebody said doesn't mean much. They won't let these people step foot on solid land so I doubt they have boarded the boats and checked ID's and passports. Also, saying that they are illegal workers is incorrect, Where were they working illegally?

Until they are properly screened, nobody is going to know where they are from and if they are screened and they are a Bangladeshi national who is not facing persecution, they can be returned.

Scott asked for a source. I provided one. Now, you want to argue with the source, because it doesn't say what you want it to say.

[simple1]

Do you have a source showing that most are Bangladeshi? I am curious because the Myanmar gov't considers them to be Bangladeshi even though they live in Myanmar but Bangladesh does not. There are some rather large refugee camps for Rohinghyas in Bangladesh.

If he doesn't, I have this article. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-23/bishop-says-most-of-7000-stranded-people-are-labourers/6491836

Not a credible source. Somebody said doesn't mean much. They won't let these people step foot on solid land so I doubt they have boarded the boats and checked ID's and passports. Also, saying that they are illegal workers is incorrect, Where were they working illegally?

Until they are properly screened, nobody is going to know where they are from and if they are screened and they are a Bangladeshi national who is not facing persecution, they can be returned.

Scott asked for a source. I provided one. Now, you want to argue with the source, because it doesn't say what you want it to say.

Post removed to enable reply.

The article quoted the Australian Foreign Minister & it's clear her comment on the Bangladeshi's is based upon Indonesian intelligence assessment briefing, not definitive facts, as to their actual status.

The current Oz government has declared all operational matters concerning 'boat people' subject to official secrecy conditions. Australian Federal Government has a political agenda with the Rohingya / Bangladeshi boat people, I wouldn't trust their messaging; not one iota.

[Mudcrab]

Do any of you know that Australia, is party to 1952 refugee convention. And since Tony Abbott came to power, boats were not only turned back but towed back to Indonesia on some instances. I didn't see a lot of keyboard warriors, bleeding hearts trashing Australia. I am from Australia and ashamed of it. Where was John Kerry when these happened. Just because it happened in developing countries doesn't mean that international community can take cheap shots at them. Just food for thought

There have been numerous threads about Australia's policy on asylum seekers and I can assure you, Australia was not given a pass on the issue.

And I can assure you that the current Australian Government will continue to implement the same successful policy. And it is highly likely they will continue to do so following the next election.

In the words of a previous Prime Minister - "We will decide who comes to Australia and the manner in which they come". Tell me where this is wrong policy?

A lot of Australians are well aware of the damage the bleeding hearts have done (think the last socialist/green alliance government in Australia which resulted in thousands of people drowning at sea) especially in some of the European countries, and support the restriction of illegal immigrants.

Lets face the reality - most of those seeking to come to Australia see it as the land of milk and honey - just turn up and get taken care of for life at the expense of the (rapidly) diminishing Aussie working taxpayer. Then breed and impose your own values on a land that is known world wide to be friendly and easy going.

Don't get me wrong, most Aussies don't have a problem with genuine refugees making Australia their home, but they do have a problem with queues jumpers who turn up at the doorstep while genuine refugees who may have spent 10 years or more in a camp in Africa waiting for resettlement miss out on the opportunity.

Neither the Rohingya nor the Bangladeshi qualify as refugees in my opinion.

Australia can't take everyone who wants to come here - we are a small nation population wise.

[winstonc]

Another one who fails to recognize that these people are not all Rohingya, indeed it would now seem that the majority are from Bangladesh and are on these boats because of promises of jobs and a better life.

Sure the ones at sea must be found to save their lives, but where to from there, can Thailand really be expected to just take them in ?

They have all been taken advantage of by criminals and the priority should be to go after those criminals whoever they are and make sure this can never happen again.

Forget window dressing that makes it look nice for the UN, US or anyone else, what they think should be the last consideration.

Do you have a source showing that most are Bangladeshi? I am curious because the Myanmar gov't considers them to be Bangladeshi even though they live in Myanmar but Bangladesh does not. There are some rather large refugee camps for Rohinghyas in Bangladesh.

Doubtful. Keep in mind that the poster in question is one of a handful of TV members who log onto this section of TV to foist their political views upon others and have no qualms about making false claims to support their decidedly odd agenda.

From CNN:

"Thousands of migrants -- mostly members of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority, and also economic migrants from Bangladesh -- are believed to be stranded aboard rickety traffickers' ships in the busy waters of the Malacca Strait and the Andaman Sea, looking for a safe harbor to take them in."

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/15/asia/thailand-malaysia-rohingya-refugees/

From US News and World Report:

"More than 3,000 people have landed in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in recent weeks, most of them members of the Rohingya minority who were fleeing Myanmar or were tricked by traffickers and then abandoned at sea."

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/05/21/the-latest-on-rohingya-new-boat-arrivals-in-bad-shape

there you go scott a link to show you bangladesh..not just myanmar..wonder how they all got on the same boat together..fantastic logistics..

[dcutman]

Do any of you know that Australia, is party to 1952 refugee convention. And since Tony Abbott came to power, boats were not only turned back but towed back to Indonesia on some instances. I didn't see a lot of keyboard warriors, bleeding hearts trashing Australia. I am from Australia and ashamed of it. Where was John Kerry when these happened. Just because it happened in developing countries doesn't mean that international community can take cheap shots at them. Just food for thought

There have been numerous threads about Australia's policy on asylum seekers and I can assure you, Australia was not given a pass on the issue.

And I can assure you that the current Australian Government will continue to implement the same successful policy. And it is highly likely they will continue to do so following the next election.

In the words of a previous Prime Minister - "We will decide who comes to Australia and the manner in which they come". Tell me where this is wrong policy?

A lot of Australians are well aware of the damage the bleeding hearts have done (think the last socialist/green alliance government in Australia which resulted in thousands of people drowning at sea) especially in some of the European countries, and support the restriction of illegal immigrants.

Lets face the reality - most of those seeking to come to Australia see it as the land of milk and honey - just turn up and get taken care of for life at the expense of the (rapidly) diminishing Aussie working taxpayer. Then breed and impose your own values on a land that is known world wide to be friendly and easy going.

Don't get me wrong, most Aussies don't have a problem with genuine refugees making Australia their home, but they do have a problem with queues jumpers who turn up at the doorstep while genuine refugees who may have spent 10 years or more in a camp in Africa waiting for resettlement miss out on the opportunity.

Neither the Rohingya nor the Bangladeshi qualify as refugees in my opinion.

Australia can't take everyone who wants to come here - we are a small nation population wise.

Seeing how you guys have totally abandoned the topic and moved to OZ. To get this more on topic. Lets try a hypothetical question.

If the Aussi govt and its subordinate officials had allowed, even conspired, with its citizen's and industries to exploit/enslave these people, hold them for ransom and even murder them, like the Thai govt has been doing for decades. Would you have the same opinion/ position?

Edited May 24, 2015 by dcutman

[Oziex1]

Do any of you know that Australia, is party to 1952 refugee convention. And since Tony Abbott came to power, boats were not only turned back but towed back to Indonesia on some instances. I didn't see a lot of keyboard warriors, bleeding hearts trashing Australia. I am from Australia and ashamed of it. Where was John Kerry when these happened. Just because it happened in developing countries doesn't mean that international community can take cheap shots at them. Just food for thought

There have been numerous threads about Australia's policy on asylum seekers and I can assure you, Australia was not given a pass on the issue.

And I can assure you that the current Australian Government will continue to implement the same successful policy. And it is highly likely they will continue to do so following the next election.

In the words of a previous Prime Minister - "We will decide who comes to Australia and the manner in which they come". Tell me where this is wrong policy?

A lot of Australians are well aware of the damage the bleeding hearts have done (think the last socialist/green alliance government in Australia which resulted in thousands of people drowning at sea) especially in some of the European countries, and support the restriction of illegal immigrants.

Lets face the reality - most of those seeking to come to Australia see it as the land of milk and honey - just turn up and get taken care of for life at the expense of the (rapidly) diminishing Aussie working taxpayer. Then breed and impose your own values on a land that is known world wide to be friendly and easy going.

Don't get me wrong, most Aussies don't have a problem with genuine refugees making Australia their home, but they do have a problem with queues jumpers who turn up at the doorstep while genuine refugees who may have spent 10 years or more in a camp in Africa waiting for resettlement miss out on the opportunity.

Neither the Rohingya nor the Bangladeshi qualify as refugees in my opinion.

Australia can't take everyone who wants to come here - we are a small nation population wise.

Who qualifies as a refugee in your opinion?

[Srikcir]

Arresting a few people....

Convicting none.

One naval officer arrested two months ago for alleged human trafficking. Last month the Junta announces no military has been involved in trafficking.

Thailand needs to be red carded.

[tonbridgebrit]

"These were the words of a leader of a country. 'Embarrassment' is an understatement, indeed".

These were the words of someone not trained in diplomacy.

I fear the world will soon view Thailand the same as they view other military governments.

"...for fear their reports would tarnish the country's reputation..."

No worries here. The current government has already shot Thailand's "reputation" full of holes and continue to do so everyday.

I think everybody accepts that, at the very least, it's public relations have been mishandled. PR is important.

[Travelman868]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Could it be that Buddist's in Myanmar had enough of the 800,000 Rohingya Muslims. Since 1972 these people have been waging a war against Buddist's

and the Junta.

Why would Thailand want to take in any Muslim's don't they already have sufficient problems in the South with these animals killing the equivalent

of over 1.5 people EVERY day for the last 12 years.

Look at the records, look at the number of children brutally murdered. Look at the picture of the 9 year old boy beheaded.

This next bit is graphic :- when these non humans cut off a head they do not use something sharp and quick, they use an old knife and saw it off. The victim is

still alive for most of this.

Next time you feel saddened by the way these people are treated, thing about what would do to your children if given the chance, that is of course if you are

an infidel.

[Robby nz]

Another one who fails to recognize that these people are not all Rohingya, indeed it would now seem that the majority are from Bangladesh and are on these boats because of promises of jobs and a better life.

Sure the ones at sea must be found to save their lives, but where to from there, can Thailand really be expected to just take them in ?

They have all been taken advantage of by criminals and the priority should be to go after those criminals whoever they are and make sure this can never happen again.

Forget window dressing that makes it look nice for the UN, US or anyone else, what they think should be the last consideration.

Has it been established whether those from Bangladesh are actually citizens or from the estimated 300k+ people living in Bangladesh who are stateless, subject to persecution and so on.

What is the difference ?

If they are from Bangladesh as has been established then they are not Rohingya from Burma, The OP fails to mention this rather referring to all these unfortunate people as Rohingya,

Makes a better story I guess.

[dcutman]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Could it be that Buddist's in Myanmar had enough of the 800,000 Rohingya Muslims. Since 1972 these people have been waging a war against Buddist's

and the Junta.

Why would Thailand want to take in any Muslim's don't they already have sufficient problems in the South with these animals killing the equivalent

of over 1.5 people EVERY day for the last 12 years.

Look at the records, look at the number of children brutally murdered. Look at the picture of the 9 year old boy beheaded.

This next bit is graphic :- when these non humans cut off a head they do not use something sharp and quick, they use an old knife and saw it off. The victim is

still alive for most of this.

Next time you feel saddened by the way these people are treated, thing about what would do to your children if given the chance, that is of course if you are

an infidel.

Typically when you make claims like this, it is a good idea to include links to back up those claims. When you dont include links most likely it will be considered BS.

[Robby nz]

Another one who fails to recognize that these people are not all Rohingya, indeed it would now seem that the majority are from Bangladesh and are on these boats because of promises of jobs and a better life.

Sure the ones at sea must be found to save their lives, but where to from there, can Thailand really be expected to just take them in ?

They have all been taken advantage of by criminals and the priority should be to go after those criminals whoever they are and make sure this can never happen again.

Forget window dressing that makes it look nice for the UN, US or anyone else, what they think should be the last consideration.

Do you have a source showing that most are Bangladeshi? I am curious because the Myanmar gov't considers them to be Bangladeshi even though they live in Myanmar but Bangladesh does not. There are some rather large refugee camps for Rohinghyas in Bangladesh.

If he doesn't, I have this article. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-23/bishop-says-most-of-7000-stranded-people-are-labourers/6491836

Because somebody says it is so, doesn't make it so. I get very suspicious when they have such good knowledge about people they won't let set foot on their soil. No evidence that they have actually gone on board, checked ID documents or passports.

As another poster stated, there are a lot of stateless people in Bangladesh and they can't return either.

I suspect you know by now that I cant link to a BK Post article but I can point you to one.

Go to todays BKK Post site, look for Hot topics, Migrant crisis, then scroll down to Jakarta: Most Migrants not Rohingya.

There is no need to "Go on board" as the people referred to are the ones that have already landed, in most cases they don't have ID's, documents or passports, if you had been keeping up with this you would know that those that have been talked to have said what they have were taken from them, but they do have a language which is different in each case and requires different interpreters.

There are also reports of some saying they want to go back to Bangladesh but I am not going to look for them, if you are really interested do it yourself.

There is also a report saying those in Thailand were at least 50% from Bangladesh but I am not going to look for that either as you probably wont believe as its not what you want to believe.

I see you are prepared to believe what another poster says but not news reports.

[ThaiUser]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Maybe you should take a look into the international news, which just have released the camps found on the Malaysian side across the border. With hundreds of dead bodies in two mass graves and 5 camps that have been operated for at least 5 years.

AFP, Reuters, Yahoo, Spiegel etc.

Malaysia until now has stated that no camps on her side existed.

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-home-minister-says-mass-graves-found-report-074222879.html

[ThaiUser]

Do any of you know that Australia, is party to 1952 refugee convention. And since Tony Abbott came to power, boats were not only turned back but towed back to Indonesia on some instances. I didn't see a lot of keyboard warriors, bleeding hearts trashing Australia. I am from Australia and ashamed of it. Where was John Kerry when these happened. Just because it happened in developing countries doesn't mean that international community can take cheap shots at them. Just food for thought

There have been numerous threads about Australia's policy on asylum seekers and I can assure you, Australia was not given a pass on the issue.

I agree with you but would like to point out that human trafficking has become a global problem and isn’t associated only with the region here. In the UK Vietnamese traffickers are reported to bring 30 children per day into the country unable to be detected by border controls or the police. An estimated 3000 Vietnamese children have been sold to bars, brothels or sweetshops to work as human slaves.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/may/23/vietnam-children-trafficking-nail-bar-cannabis

In Malaysia mass graves have been discovered on Friday across the border to Thailand with hundreds of dead bodies.

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-home-minister-says-mass-graves-found-report-074222879.html

Germany, France, Spain, US etc all have reported about it and showing us that humans have become a commodity and are a lucrative business.

I don’t believe for ones that a single nation can tackle the problem and that an international effort is required to stop the criminals that run and profiting from these businesses.

Certainly a top priority at this moment is to help the people that are in limbo with no place to go.

Edited May 24, 2015 by ThaiUser

[dcutman]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Maybe you should take a look into the international news, which just have released the camps found on the Malaysian side across the border. With hundreds of dead bodies in two mass graves and 5 camps that have been operated for at least 5 years.

AFP, Reuters, Yahoo, Spiegel etc.

Malaysia until now has stated that no camps on her side existed.

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-home-minister-says-mass-graves-found-report-074222879.html

SO, does that make Thailands handling this situation any better.

Does this news negate the fact that Thai citizens, police and army have been aiding and abetting human traffickers in the extortion and murder of these people and have been doing so for decades?

Edited May 24, 2015 by dcutman

[simple1]

Another one who fails to recognize that these people are not all Rohingya, indeed it would now seem that the majority are from Bangladesh and are on these boats because of promises of jobs and a better life.

Sure the ones at sea must be found to save their lives, but where to from there, can Thailand really be expected to just take them in ?

They have all been taken advantage of by criminals and the priority should be to go after those criminals whoever they are and make sure this can never happen again.

Forget window dressing that makes it look nice for the UN, US or anyone else, what they think should be the last consideration.

Has it been established whether those from Bangladesh are actually citizens or from the estimated 300k+ people living in Bangladesh who are stateless, subject to persecution and so on.

What is the difference ?

If they are from Bangladesh as has been established then they are not Rohingya from Burma, The OP fails to mention this rather referring to all these unfortunate people as Rohingya,

Makes a better story I guess.

Difference would be if they are stateless people from Bangladesh they would normally be classified as refugees, once they got out, as most of them are subjected to oppression & horrific living conditions. UNHCR are not permitted to assist the vast majority of stateless people in Bangladesh.

Just in case you're not aware, a few years ago Bangladesh also cancelled the passports they had issued back in the 70s, under international pressure, for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya. Original reason for the passports was so they could take up KSA's offer of work and assistance; now they and families are also stateless.

[ThaiUser]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Maybe you should take a look into the international news, which just have released the camps found on the Malaysian side across the border. With hundreds of dead bodies in two mass graves and 5 camps that have been operated for at least 5 years.

AFP, Reuters, Yahoo, Spiegel etc.

Malaysia until now has stated that no camps on her side existed.

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-home-minister-says-mass-graves-found-report-074222879.html

SO, does that make Thailands handling this situation any better.

Does this news negate the fact that Thai citizens, police and army have been aiding and abetting human traffickers in the extortion and murder of these people and have been doing so for decades?

Where did I state that it would make the situation any better? What I have said in the past is that I am ashamed for what is happening in the south of my country and feel sorry for the victims. But if you read the threads dealing with the problem you will find that the overwhelming tenor of the comments condemns all Thais and the country not taking into account that many of us object to what has happened here.

I have also looked across the borders and realised that Thailand and the people that conduct these despicable business here have their counterparts in Europe, America and other regions of the world. But comments here on the threads seem to imply that it is only in our nature to treat other humans this way. Trust me, it isn't the case and many people I know and that are Thai too feel the same.

[DennisF]

Ship em all back from whence they came ASAP.

Unfortunately, many came here on offers of getting good jobs. Only to be brutalized and held for ransom. And potentially killed if they didn't pay up. Not 100% their fault.

Absobloodylootly

[dcutman]

Only embarrassing because the rest of the world found out about Thai deceitfulness and lack of human decency by the Thai military and the elite supporting the traffickers. Until then no one in Thailand gave a toss because it was just another income stream. Buddhism is great. Burma's Buddhist persecute them so that the are desperate to leave and then Thai Buddhists, sell them, rape them and generally treat them worse then animals.

Maybe you should take a look into the international news, which just have released the camps found on the Malaysian side across the border. With hundreds of dead bodies in two mass graves and 5 camps that have been operated for at least 5 years.

AFP, Reuters, Yahoo, Spiegel etc.

Malaysia until now has stated that no camps on her side existed.

http://news.yahoo.com/malaysia-home-minister-says-mass-graves-found-report-074222879.html

SO, does that make Thailands handling this situation any better.

Does this news negate the fact that Thai citizens, police and army have been aiding and abetting human traffickers in the extortion and murder of these people and have been doing so for decades?

Where did I state that it would make the situation any better? What I have said in the past is that I am ashamed for what is happening in the south of my country and feel sorry for the victims. But if you read the threads dealing with the problem you will find that the overwhelming tenor of the comments condemns all Thais and the country not taking into account that many of us object to what has happened here.

I have also looked across the borders and realised that Thailand and the people that conduct these despicable business here have their counterparts in Europe, America and other regions of the world. But comments here on the threads seem to imply that it is only in our nature to treat other humans this way. Trust me, it isn't the case and many people I know and that are Thai too feel the same.

Edited May 24, 2015 by dcutman

[ThaiUser]

Do any of you know that Australia, is party to 1952 refugee convention. And since Tony Abbott came to power, boats were not only turned back but towed back to Indonesia on some instances. I didn't see a lot of keyboard warriors, bleeding hearts trashing Australia. I am from Australia and ashamed of it. Where was John Kerry when these happened. Just because it happened in developing countries doesn't mean that international community can take cheap shots at them. Just food for thought

There have been numerous threads about Australia's policy on asylum seekers and I can assure you, Australia was not given a pass on the issue.

And I can assure you that the current Australian Government will continue to implement the same successful policy. And it is highly likely they will continue to do so following the next election.

In the words of a previous Prime Minister - "We will decide who comes to Australia and the manner in which they come". Tell me where this is wrong policy?

A lot of Australians are well aware of the damage the bleeding hearts have done (think the last socialist/green alliance government in Australia which resulted in thousands of people drowning at sea) especially in some of the European countries, and support the restriction of illegal immigrants.

Lets face the reality - most of those seeking to come to Australia see it as the land of milk and honey - just turn up and get taken care of for life at the expense of the (rapidly) diminishing Aussie working taxpayer. Then breed and impose your own values on a land that is known world wide to be friendly and easy going.

Don't get me wrong, most Aussies don't have a problem with genuine refugees making Australia their home, but they do have a problem with queues jumpers who turn up at the doorstep while genuine refugees who may have spent 10 years or more in a camp in Africa waiting for resettlement miss out on the opportunity.

Neither the Rohingya nor the Bangladeshi qualify as refugees in my opinion.

Australia can't take everyone who wants to come here - we are a small nation population wise.

Seeing how you guys have totally abandoned the topic and moved to OZ. To get this more on topic. Lets try a hypothetical question.

If the Aussi govt and its subordinate officials had allowed, even conspired, with its citizen's and industries to exploit/enslave these people, hold them for ransom and even murder them, like the Thai govt has been doing for decades. Would you have the same opinion/ position?

If the Aussi govt and its subordinate officials had allowed, even conspired, with its citizen's and industries to exploit/enslave these people, hold them for ransom and even murder them, like the Thai govt has been doing for decades.

Are you seriously suggesting that our current military leaders, police, government officials etc. that have served under previous governments and Thailand's citizen's are involved in a conspiracy to exploit/enslave humans and hold them for ransom or murder them?

Your hypothetical question isn’t actually a question because it suggests that in Thailand it would be the case by stating “like the Thai govt has been doing for decades.” I hope you have evidence to substantiate that claim because I wouldn’t let that rest if I would be a subordinate official in the armed forces, police force or civil government and would have served my country for years. I would regard it as slanderous and liable and would take the appropriate action.

[chilli42]

The only reason both Indonesia and Malaysia did a " U " turn was they found out the Rohingya are Muslim, otherwise the crisis would be one hell of a mess, it wouldn't look good Muslim nations turning back Muslim refugees, one wonders whether the same treatment would be the same for other religions.

What do you mean "found out"? Do you think they had to look this up on Wikipedia?

[abitmiffed]

EDITORIAL

Handling of Rohingya issue was embarrassing

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Things are better, but it's time Thailand tackled the trafficking and boat people problem with sincerity

Things appear to be moving in the right direction with regard to the plight of the Rohingya boat people.

But it took Thailand some time before the government came to this juncture. Indeed, it was somewhat embarrassing to see Thailand dragging its feet even after Malaysia and Indonesia made sharp U-turns on their policies on the Rohingya boat people.

At first, everybody was pushing them back. Food, water and fuel were given to the migrants before they were pushed back into international waters where uncertainties awaited.

Embarrassed by the publicity, Thai officials along the Andaman coast obstructed the work of local and international media by ordering local boat owners not rent their services to foreign and local reporters for fear their reports would tarnish the country's reputation.

But they don't seem to understand that pushing people back to sea - especially people fleeing persecution - was utterly unacceptable by today's norms.

For the sake of Thailand and for the sake of humanity, this is something that has to be exposed.

With decades of experience working with refugees from neighbouring countries, we would think that our government officials would be among the world's leading experts on this issue.

So in this respect, it is fair to ask why did they behave like a bunch of young and inexperience officials? Were they afraid of upsetting the

generals, perhaps?

But when you have a leader who likes to shoot from the hip, it's difficult to be too assertive.

Last Thursday Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated: "Anyone who supports this idea of accepting boat people, please contribute Bt1 a day or take them to your home." He also said that people who disagreed with him should change places with the Rohingya.

These were the words of a leader of a country. 'Embarrassment' is an understatement, indeed.

In its capacity as the chair of Asean, Malaysia recently held a high-level meeting with Indonesia and announced a plan to provide refuge to the Rohingya, about 8,000 of whom had been floating on the high seas for weeks and months until the region's governments changed their positions.

Missing from the meeting in Kuala Lumpur meeting was Thailand. Our flag was there but nobody was sitting at the table for the subsequent media conference.

Former foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan was on the money when he said that Thailand should use the Rohingya crisis to its advantage and rid itself of the human trafficking stigma.

It's easier said than done, of course, especially when so many government officials benefit from the trade.

From the people who man the border and get paid to turn a blind eye, to the jailers who resell the victims back to the traffickers, to the security units on the ground whose outposts are often a stone's throw from the illegal camps housing migrant captives until their families pay their debts, this is a very comprehensive arrangement. Real political will is needed to penetrate this ring and bring an end to this stigma that has tarnish Thailand's international standing.

Bangkok is hosting a high-level meeting on the issue next Friday and Myanmar has finally accepted the invitation. It's not too late to come up with a more meaningful position, one that shows Thailand cares and means business when it comes to its commitment to international norms and practices in relation to refugees fleeing persecution.

Moreover, the US Trafficking in Persons Report will come out in a matter of weeks and the verdict is still out as to whether the European Union will give us a red card over allegations of illegal fishing and human rights violations on the high seas.

But we still have time to act. Arresting a few people and boasting about how many shady officials you transfer is not enough. The world needs to know what Bangkok's future position on this humanitarian crisis is.

We can blame Thai society's racist attitude for influencing our policy on the Rohingya. But surely there are some officials out there who know, deep in their heart, what the right course of action is.

They should know that whatever action we take now will define us as a nation for generations to come.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Handling-of-Rohingya-issue-was-embarrassing-30260814.html

-- The Nation 2015-05-24

Buy isn't this how countries collapse? Letting in every Tom,Dick,Harry and their pets? Look at the UK, its not England no more because of all the immigrants getting free Homes,benefits and everyone else pays for them..... What would the UK be like of it followed the same policy? Kick em out send em home.... Its up to their own government yo fix their own problem.