By NNT

Pattaya Mail

May 5, 2015

SONGKHLA – The Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army today went to investigate the death case of about 30 Rohingya people on location, while urging a solution to eradicate human trafficking in Thailand.

The Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army Gen Udomdej Sitabutr said that he had visited Songkhla province today to continue the investigation on searching for more Rohingya bodies buried at the border area. He has urged all agencies to carry out their operations and intelligence work to eradicate the human trafficking issue from Thailand.

About 30 graves of Rohingya people were discovered by the police on 1 May 2015 on the Look Chang mountain in the Padang Besar subdistrict in Songkhla province. The site is believed to be the temporary camp for Rohingya people before being transported out of Thailand.

The Army Chief further said that this matter has been expedited by the Prime Minister in finding the perpetrators and to bring them to face legal punishment, as the Prime Minister is concerned that some government officials might involved.

He said that the matter has to be coordinated between Thailand and Malaysia, as it is believed that this particular human trafficking gang has connections in both countries. This case must be urgently solved as Thailand is now being watched by many countries regarding the issue of human trafficking. However, the name of the suspects cannot be disclosed currently, as the case is still under police investigation.

The Army Chief also mentioned that he had visited Ranong province today, as it is the location that is used to transport Rohingya people by boat to the western seashore of Thailand, in an attempt to eradicate the human trafficking activities through the cooperation between the military, police, and the civilian.

Pattaya Mail

May 21, 2013

Thailand today asked Bangladesh to help verify the nationality of Rohingya ethnic people on its border with Myanmar.

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra raised the issue during bilateral talks with her Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on the sidelines of the Second Asia-Pacific Water Summit.

The unsettled issue of Rohingya minority group between Bangladesh and Myanmar has led to continued departures of numbers of the ethnic people from Myanmar, many of whom landed illegally on Thai soil.

Ms Yingluck expressed her appreciation regarding increased trade and investment between Thailand and Bangladesh after her recent visit to the South Asian country.

In a separate meeting with UN General Assembly president Vuk Jeremic, the Thai prime minister sought the UN’s cooperation on food stability and health, calling for exchanges of knowledge on the two significant issues to minimise the gap between the rich and the poor.

Mr Jeremic invited the Thai premier to express her views on social and economic issues at a UN forum in New York.