Burmese migrant workers in Thailand warned about referendum crackdown

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Burmese embassy in Bangkok has warned Burmese migrant workers in Thailand of a surge in raids and surprise checks by Thai police and military personnel on their work places and living quarters ahead of the August 7 referendum, reported The Irrawaddy Online on Tuesday.

 

The notices, issued by the embassy on Monday, warned Burmese nationals visiting or living in Thailand to exercise extra caution while working and travelling and to carry the required immigration documents with them at all times and to calmly submit to checks or inspections by Thai authorities.

 

The notices also provided contact numbers for the embassy and invited calls from any Burmese national requiring assistance.

 

According to Burmese migrant sources, Thai police have been conducting surprise inspections in the markets of Chiang Mai where many Burmese migrant workers make their livelihood.

 

A Burmese migrant worker, Ko On, said that the crackdown was worse than previous crackdowns with the police intervening not only in migrant work places but also in the houses and makeshift structures. He said that small shops ran by Burmese in the city had been kept closed as a precaution.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/burmese-migrant-workers-in-thailand-warned-about-referendum-crackdown/

 

-- Thai PBS 2016-08-03

What has the referendum got to do with a crackdown on migrant workers.

 

Apart from that I have noticed several groups of migrant workers being stopped by police around the Thong Lor area the last few days.

All the migrant workers in Thailand should just up and leave to avoid the continued harassment and exploitation - especially the Burmese.  Then and only then will Thailand have to confront the serious labor shortage that would result and implement a system of immigration that confers the proper rights and entitlements these migrant worker should enjoy.