Thailand refuses to grant UNHCR access to Rohingya boat people

Posted on January 21, 2009
Filed Under Burma news | 1 Comment

The Thai army guarding refugees on Koh Sai Baed

The Thai government has refused a request from the UNHCR for access to 126 boat people being detained in Thailand.
The UN’s refugee agency requested access to the members of the Rohingya ethnic minority on Tuesday to determine their need for international protection.
The request came a week after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern following media reports that the Thai navy had intercepted Rohingya boat people in Thai waters, and towed them back to sea and left them to die.
The agency stressed that the Thai Government should take all measures to make sure the lives of the Rohingya boat people are not put at risk, adding that it welcomed local media reports announcing Government investigations into accusations of maltreatment.
UNHCR spokesman, Ron Redmond said, “According to information from our sources, a group of 80 Rohingya boat people are being held on Koh Sai Daeng Island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea. 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.”
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority from Western Burma, who have been persecuted by the military junta and denied many basic rights. This has led many of them to risk their lives in small boats sailing from Bangladesh or Myanmar, often turning up in Thailand, Malaysia or as far away as Indonesia.
In December, over 170 Rohingya arrived off the coast of Indonesia, alleging they had been blocked from landing in Thailand by Thai marines (see Rohingya stranded in Indonesia).
Those allegations were followed by a report last week in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post that 538 refugees are missing or dead in the last month after being deliberately cast adrift in unpowered boats by the Thai military.
However, despite promises from Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, that he would investigate the claims, he has rejected the UNHCR’s request to visit the group. He instead called on the agency to work with Thai authorities.

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Comments

One Response to “Thailand refuses to grant UNHCR access to Rohingya boat people”

John on January 26th, 2009 5:52 pm

The plight of the Rohingya refugees, while gaining recognition, is still far from common knowledge to most of the world. It was encouraging to see your article and read about your efforts.

God bless you.