Foreign affairs ministry confirms it has continuously helped Thai crew men in Indonesia

BANGKOK, 31 July 2015 (NNT) - The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it has continuously assisted stranded Thai fishing boat workers in Indonesia. Over 1,200 of them have returned to Thailand.

From 1 October 2014 -29 July 2015, the ministry sent a total of 1,244 fishing boat crew men back to Thailand. The ministry said it had handled the matter with care and regard to good relations between Thailand and Indonesia and laws of the latter.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Jakarta, the only government agency in Indonesia responsible for assistance for the stranded crew men, has continuously issued Certificate of Identity to the Thai fishing boat workers who have been waiting to be sent back.

After they arrive to Thailand, the crew men will be rehabilitated by relevant government units who will also look into their case in an effort to prosecute those involved in human trafficking.

The Thai government has already checked 69 Thai fishing boat workers who returned to Thailand on 29 July 2015 and found that they had not been involved in human trafficking.

The ministry has also helped the stranded fishing boat crew members from other countries who want to return to their home countries by coordinating assistance.

-- NNT 2015-07-31

Claimed, not confirmed.

An independent separate body would need to do the confirming.

Alot of claims, in Thailand?

Perhaps they could have provided the help years ago? Before they became slaves?

Perhaps they could have provided the help years ago? Before they became slaves?

Not so fast Romper ... That's is a pretty proactive approach, they had not been outed back then, so we can safely assume that was an impossibility.

I travel in that area, over the years have seen thai tuna boats, licensed to fish off Papua but getting resupplied in in Ambon. Little did I know. Something the Thai news media did not say anything about is Indonesia catching and sinking of both Thai and Chinese Trawlers in her waters illegal fishing. Big in Indonesian papers and media, not a word in the thai media for the last year and a half. Now we know WHY .

...of course....

...the rest of the world has it all wrong....

...really scary ........

Claimed, not confirmed.

An independent separate body would need to do the confirming.

All seemingly with no sense of urgency.

Have they made an attempt to identify the boats that stranded these men and taken action against the owners of Thai registered boats?

What do they mean by stranded boats? be specific.

In the papers today

A fleet of at least 30 fishing trawlers crewed by slaves is being hunted off the coast of Papua New Guinea as the true extent becomes apparent of the trafficking of Burmese men by a massive Thai-run criminal syndicate operating throughout the East Indies.

These are based out of Ambon, in the Maluku's, east Indonesia. Combine this with the NY Times article of 10 days ago and the TP report will be the last thing on peoples minds. There will now be great pressure on US companies, and EU, to stop all business with these companies, coming not from lawmakers or Foreign Service but from consumers. This is going to get real messy, real fast.

Its one thing for lawmakers and governments to bicker, it is quite another when the cloak of anonymity is pulled off and consumers actually realize what they are supporting.