ID :
48019
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 20:41
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http://m.oananews.org//node/48019
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Rohingya migrant problem to be solved within ASEAN: Thai FM
PHETCHABURI, Feb 27 (TNA) - The Rohingya migrant problem will be solved within the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc and the so-called Bali Process should be one of the appropriate channel for discussing the issue of the flow of illegal migrants in the Andaman Sea, according to Thai Foreign Minsiter Kasit Piromya.
Mr. Kasit, who is chairing the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Cha-am, told reporters that the meeting agreed that the Rohingya migrant problem would be solved by ASEAN and also within Bali Process framework.
Indonesia is scheduled to host a Bali Process meeting April 14-15, which, Mr. Kasit said, was considered a good start as Myanmar had agreed to join in solving the problem.
"We have good cooperation with the Myanmar government. The Myanmar government will take those boat people or Rohingyas if it is confirmed they are of Myanmar's Bengal. For those boat people who are not Bengali, the Myanmar government has to discuss this among the ASEAN countries as well as the Bangladesh government," said the Thai foreign minister.
The ministerial meeting assigned the ASEAN Secretariat to cooperate with the Myanmar government to compile information on the ethnic Rohingya who fled to live in other countries in the region as a data base, Mr. Kasit said.
The ‘Bali Process’ on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was launched in 2002 with a key objective of setting a regional cooperation framework to prevent and resolve the problem of people smuggling, human trafficking and related transnational crimes.
The Process is composed of 40 member countries from the Asia-Pacific region (including Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia—all of which are affected by the Rohingya issue) and 18 observer countries, with participation of international organisations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Mr. Kasit also added that the meeting of ASEAN+3 and ASEAN+6 would be held during April 10-12 but the government would later decide the venue.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting also asked Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who will attend the G-20 in London in April in his capacity as ASEAN chair, to tell the G-20 that ASEAN would like to contribute to solving the global financial crisis, he said. (TNA)
Mr. Kasit, who is chairing the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Cha-am, told reporters that the meeting agreed that the Rohingya migrant problem would be solved by ASEAN and also within Bali Process framework.
Indonesia is scheduled to host a Bali Process meeting April 14-15, which, Mr. Kasit said, was considered a good start as Myanmar had agreed to join in solving the problem.
"We have good cooperation with the Myanmar government. The Myanmar government will take those boat people or Rohingyas if it is confirmed they are of Myanmar's Bengal. For those boat people who are not Bengali, the Myanmar government has to discuss this among the ASEAN countries as well as the Bangladesh government," said the Thai foreign minister.
The ministerial meeting assigned the ASEAN Secretariat to cooperate with the Myanmar government to compile information on the ethnic Rohingya who fled to live in other countries in the region as a data base, Mr. Kasit said.
The ‘Bali Process’ on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime was launched in 2002 with a key objective of setting a regional cooperation framework to prevent and resolve the problem of people smuggling, human trafficking and related transnational crimes.
The Process is composed of 40 member countries from the Asia-Pacific region (including Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia—all of which are affected by the Rohingya issue) and 18 observer countries, with participation of international organisations, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Mr. Kasit also added that the meeting of ASEAN+3 and ASEAN+6 would be held during April 10-12 but the government would later decide the venue.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting also asked Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who will attend the G-20 in London in April in his capacity as ASEAN chair, to tell the G-20 that ASEAN would like to contribute to solving the global financial crisis, he said. (TNA)
