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41762
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 21:01
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Thai PM: Rohingya rights not violated; UN asks to see detainees
BANGKOK, Jan 20 (TNA) - Even as Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was affirming the need for his country's authorities to prevent foreigners from entering Thailand illegally, the Geneva-based United Nations refugee agency called for access to more than one hundred Rohingya boat people to assess whether the detainees are in need of international protection.
Mr. Abhisit reasserted Tuesday the need for officials and security agencies to swiftly deter illegal immigrants from entering the kingdom illegally because their presence sometimes threatens national security.
At the same time the Thai premier called for cooperation from Thailand's neighbours in dealing with the complex humanitarian issue.
While the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) chief spokesman Ron Redmond in Geneva welcomed Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban's move to order a probe into the accusations of maltreatment of the Rohingya boat people, he said UNHCR "today asked the Thai government for access to two groups totalling 126 Rohingya boat people in custody in southern Thailand in order to assess their situation and determine whether any of them are in need of international protection.
Mr. Redmond said "This follows our expression of strong concern to the government last week over allegations that large groups of Rohingya boat people from Myanmar were intercepted in Thai waters, towed out to sea and left to die."
UNHCR further said a group of "80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea," according to Mr. Redmond. "A further 46 Rohingya who were intercepted on a boat last Friday were reportedly handed over to Thai military authorities, and we are trying to determine where they are now."
"Given the new Thai government's commitment to human rights, we are eager to discuss with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ways that this crisis can be defused quickly in line with international humanitarian standards," UNHCR said
However, Mr. Abhisit spoke to journalists several hours earlier in Bangkok, saying he had received assurances from senior Thai military and naval officers regarding media reports charging the Thai navy with mishandling undocumented migrants from the Rohingya community along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border who were travelling to and through Thailand and Malaysia in search of work.
Mr. Abhisit affirmed that Thailand's armed forces and border security agencies had no policy to violate human rights, but nonetheless officials have been assigned to further investigate the charges.
"I would like to confirm that there's no (Thai government) policy to use force against migrants," Mr. Abhisit affirmed, comparing policy to his stated position regarding violence in the southern border provinces.
"If Thai government officials, military or civil, use inappropriate or unlawful force against persons suspected of being troublemakers in the South, they will be punished," Mr. Abhisit said.
Necessary actions must be taken against the illegal entry of migrants, as they may comprise a threats to national security, Mr. Abhisit said, adding that actions, however, must be carried out within the international framework of respect towards human beings and human rights.
The Thai prime minister said the country's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) is further mapping plans to prevent illegal immigrants from entering Thailand. (TNA)
Mr. Abhisit reasserted Tuesday the need for officials and security agencies to swiftly deter illegal immigrants from entering the kingdom illegally because their presence sometimes threatens national security.
At the same time the Thai premier called for cooperation from Thailand's neighbours in dealing with the complex humanitarian issue.
While the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) chief spokesman Ron Redmond in Geneva welcomed Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban's move to order a probe into the accusations of maltreatment of the Rohingya boat people, he said UNHCR "today asked the Thai government for access to two groups totalling 126 Rohingya boat people in custody in southern Thailand in order to assess their situation and determine whether any of them are in need of international protection.
Mr. Redmond said "This follows our expression of strong concern to the government last week over allegations that large groups of Rohingya boat people from Myanmar were intercepted in Thai waters, towed out to sea and left to die."
UNHCR further said a group of "80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea," according to Mr. Redmond. "A further 46 Rohingya who were intercepted on a boat last Friday were reportedly handed over to Thai military authorities, and we are trying to determine where they are now."
"Given the new Thai government's commitment to human rights, we are eager to discuss with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya ways that this crisis can be defused quickly in line with international humanitarian standards," UNHCR said
However, Mr. Abhisit spoke to journalists several hours earlier in Bangkok, saying he had received assurances from senior Thai military and naval officers regarding media reports charging the Thai navy with mishandling undocumented migrants from the Rohingya community along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border who were travelling to and through Thailand and Malaysia in search of work.
Mr. Abhisit affirmed that Thailand's armed forces and border security agencies had no policy to violate human rights, but nonetheless officials have been assigned to further investigate the charges.
"I would like to confirm that there's no (Thai government) policy to use force against migrants," Mr. Abhisit affirmed, comparing policy to his stated position regarding violence in the southern border provinces.
"If Thai government officials, military or civil, use inappropriate or unlawful force against persons suspected of being troublemakers in the South, they will be punished," Mr. Abhisit said.
Necessary actions must be taken against the illegal entry of migrants, as they may comprise a threats to national security, Mr. Abhisit said, adding that actions, however, must be carried out within the international framework of respect towards human beings and human rights.
The Thai prime minister said the country's Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) is further mapping plans to prevent illegal immigrants from entering Thailand. (TNA)
