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By Kavi Chongkittavron 
September 1, 2013

BANGKOK: After a series of closed door discussions and numerous rephrasing by policy-makers including foreign experts, Myanmar has finally picked the theme “Moving forward in unity towards a peaceful and prosperous Community” for its engagement with Asean next year.

Like previous Asean chairs, the title reflects Naypidaw’s agenda and priorities when it takes up the grouping’s helm in 127 days.

The 10-word slogan, the longest ever in Asean history, was personally given a nod by President Thein Sein recently.

Earlier a few versions were put forward for consideration focusing on the centrality of Asean, economic cooperation and community building as well as political and economic reforms taking place in the past two years. The chosen theme was neutral and encompassing.

“It is very comprehensive,” said a senior Asean official who attended the Asean Economic Ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, where Myanmar made the official announcement.

After the Asean leaders endorsed the 2014 chair in November 2011, Myanmar has studied the themes and performances of each Asean chair since 2008 when the Asean Charter was adopted.

That year, Singapore chaired Asean with an impressive theme “One Asean at the Heart of Dynamic Asia,” echoing the island’s desire to increase the grouping’s profile beyond South-East Asia.

Thailand succeeded Singapore with a major task to implement the new charter. Bangkok was true to its slogan, “Asean Charter for Asean People,” with packed programmes of civil society groups’ participation, which scared a few Asean leaders away.

Then came Vietnam with a simple theme: “Towards the Asean Com­munity: From Vision to Action.” It did not take long for the chair to find out that spurring common actions among the Asean members was an uphill task.

Indonesia took over Vietnam’s chair with a shoo-in goal, “Asean Community in a Global Community of Nations”.

As the only Asean member in the G-20, Indonesia wanted to be the Asean voice among the world’s most economically advanced countries. Asean’s position was uplifted. But it was temporary.

Last year, Cambodia’s messianic theme of “One Community, One Destiny” had the opposite effect. As the last country to join Asean (in 1999), the practice of the “Asean Way” had yet to sink in.

Cambodia should be credited for narrowing development gaps among the old and new Asean members but very few people took notice.

“Our People, Our Future Together” is the current theme advocated by the chair, Brunei. True to form and substance, every move the chair initiated is based on consultations and consensus.

The remaining four months would be smooth, paving the way for a conservative but holistic approach by the next Asean chair.

Myanmar has good reasons to be cautious with the role.

First, Naypidaw will serve as the chair for the first time – 16 years after its admission.

It skipped the 2005 slot due to domestic crisis along with pressure from the Asean colleagues. It does not want to adopt an “overtly” forwarding looking tone as it could sound a bit patronising.

Second, the theme must be topical enough to reflect norms and values as well as the inspiration of Asean and its peoples. In this case, Myanmar had to forego the so-called non-Asean elements related to their reforms.

Finally, it must also resonate well with the situation at home. The chair’s domestic condition would certainly dominate next year’s Asean agenda, especially the situation in Rakhine State and the fate of Rohingya people.

Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei would raise the issue. This time the chair cannot get away scot-free. Myanmar turned down the planned Asean special meeting on in October to discuss Rohingya issue, which was later cancelled.

Concerned Asean countries affected by the influx of Rohingya prefer a regional solution.

Much is at stake for Myanmar, especially its manner in handling sensitive issues with transnational and international impacts. It will serve as a barometer for the depth and scope of its ongoing three-year reforms.

As a latecomer, Myanmar is learning from the Asean experience. A few years after Indonesia turned democratic in 1998, it opened up and discussed internal problems with Asean.

At the recent Asean annual meeting, Jakarta reported voluntarily the human rights condition to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights.

Myanmar was relieved after the deadline for the Asean Community was later postponed to Dec 31, 2015.

That means the chair has an additional year to prepare the grounds for the Asean Community realisation, in which Malaysia will take charge. As the theme suggests, Myanmar now is confident that it can be a catalyst for the strengthening of community-building in Asean.

Rohingyas intercepted on the Thai coast are sent to the crowded Phan Nga immigration detention centre.(Photo: The Nation)
By Brad Adams (Human Rights Watch)
August 23, 2013

The government should end the inhumane separation and detention of ethnic Rohingya families from Myanmar and allow them to contribute to the Thai economy

For years, thousands of ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar's Arakan State have set sail to flee persecution by the Myanmar government. The situation significantly worsened following sectarian violence in Arakan State in June 2012 between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Arakanese, which displaced tens of thousands of Rohingya from their homes. 

In October 2012, Arakanese political and religious leaders and state security forces committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against the Rohingya. 

During the so-called "sailing season" between October 2012 and March 2013, more than 35,000 Rohingya are believed to have fled the country. International pressure on Thailand to provide temporary protection to Rohingya arriving on its shores resulted in the current detention policy. Since January, more than 1,800 Rohingya have been sent to immigration detention centres and shelters. However, many thousands more have been intercepted at sea by Thai officials and either redirected to Malaysia or allegedly handed over to people smugglers and human traffickers who demand payment to release them and send them onwards.

Thailand's misnamed "help on" policy towards small boats carrying Rohingya has failed to provide Rohingya asylum-seekers with the protections required under international law, and in some cases significantly increased their risk. Under this policy, the Thai Navy intercepts Rohingya boats that come close to the Thai coast and supposedly provides them with fuel, food, water and other supplies on the condition that the boats continue onward to Malaysia or Indonesia. Instead of helping or providing protection, the "help on" policy either pushes ill-equipped boats of asylum-seekers onwards at sea, or sees them handed over to people smugglers who promise to send the Rohingya onwards for a price, and hand over those unable to pay to human traffickers. 

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution. While Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, under customary international law the Thai government has an obligation of "non-refoulement" - not to return anyone to places where their life or freedom would be at risk. In its "Guidelines on Applicable Criteria and Standards Relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers", the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reaffirmed the basic human right to seek asylum and stated that "as a general rule, asylum-seekers should not be detained". The UNHCR guidelines also state that detention should not be used as a punitive or disciplinary measure, or as a means of discouraging refugees from applying for asylum.

On August 13, the Cabinet considered a plan to transfer 1,839 Rohingya who have been held in immigration detention facilities and social welfare shelters across Thailand to refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Some senior Thai officials have recognised the Rohingya's plight but are still considering proposals that would keep them detained. The Thai government needs to end the inhumane detention of Rohingya and ensure the UN refugee agency and other international organisations have full access to provide much-needed protection and assistance. 

On August 9, the Thai minister of social development and human security, Paveena Hongsakula, told the media that the detention and trafficking of Rohingya in Thailand were serious human rights issues. Yet at the Cabinet meeting four days later, she proposed sending them to refugee camps, a plan that reportedly has the backing of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Foreign Affairs Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul. Despite the fact that many Rohingya fled "ethnic cleansing" and crimes against humanity in Myanmar's Arakan State, the Thai government refuses to consider the Rohingya as refugees. 

The Thai authorities have also discussed proposals to create alternative centres for the Rohingya or expand the capacity to hold Rohingya at existing immigration detention centres in Songkhla, Ranong, Prachuab Khiri Khan and Nong Khai provinces. 

Since January, the Thai authorities have detained 2,055 Rohingya on the grounds that they entered the country illegally, according to the government. Thailand has separated Rohingya families. Rohingya men have been sent to various immigration detention centres, while Rohingya women and children have been held in shelters managed by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. 

As documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Thai and Rohingya human traffickers have gained access to the government shelters and sought to lure out Rohingya women and children. In June, traffickers who promised to reunite Narunisa, a 25-year-old Rohingya in a shelter in Phang Nga province, with her husband in Malaysia for a Bt50,000 fee, instead raped her repeatedly.

Many immigration detention centres are severely overcrowded and lack access to medical services and other basic necessities. Rohingya men are restricted to extremely cramped conditions in small cells resembling large cages, where they barely have room to sit. Some suffer from swollen feet and withered leg muscles due to lack of exercise because they have not been let out of the cells for up to five months. Eight Rohingya men have died from illness while in detention. Interventions by international agencies to provide health services, prompted in part by media exposure and international expressions of concern, have resulted in health improvements, but many Rohingya still face unacceptable risks to their health due to poor detention conditions. The government should recognise that its punitive detention policy is both inhumane and counterproductive.

Since July, Rohingya men fearful of being sent back to persecution in Myanmar or detained indefinitely in Thailand have staged protests at detention facilities in Songkhla and Phang Nga. Approximately 208 Rohingya men, women and children have also escaped from detention to unknown locations. 

The Thai authorities should allow the Rohingya to seek migrant worker status, which would permit them to work and move freely. Because the Myanmar government discriminates against the Rohingya, denying them Myanmar nationality, Thailand should waive the nationality verification programme requirement for migrant worker status.

The Rohingya have fled horrific abuses in Myanmar that would put many at risk were they to return home. Instead of sticking them in border camps or immigration lock-ups, the Thai government should consider allowing the Rohingya to remain, work and live under temporary protection. 

HRW urges the Thai government to work closely with the UNHCR, which has the technical expertise to screen for refugee status and the mandate to protect refugees and stateless people. Effective UNHCR screening of all Rohingya boat arrivals would help the Thai government determine who is entitled to refugee status.

(Photo: The Nation)
Santipark Ramasutra
The Nation
July 26, 2013

Representatives from the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Thailand provided relief bags to 102 Rohingya children and women yesterday at Songkhla's Children and Family Home.

The representatives explained that they wanted to provide basic necessities to the refugees as they try to help look for a third country that would offer them refuge. They also thanked the government and officials at the shelter for taking care of them.

The embassy officials also visited other shelters such as the one at the Sadao border to hear the refugees' problems, particularly their plea for refuge in a third country and not to be sent back to Myanmar. 

The Rohingya are in temporary detention after they fled Myanmar in search for a "better life" in Malaysia and Indonesia via Thailand.
(Photo: Phuket Wan)
June 14, 2013

The European Union is committing 200,000 euro to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees being detained in Thailand, the EU Delegation to Thailand announced Friday.

The help will be directed to Rohingya men at detention centres and Rohingya women and children at social welfare facilities.

TheInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) will take charge of the aid, which will provide the Rohingya with basic household items, food and health care.

The project will be monitored by the EU's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), which maintains a regional office in Bangkok.

The funding decision was made after ECHO experts, accompanied by ECHO's Director of Operations, Jean-Louis de Brouwer, paid a visit to one of the detention facilities in May.

Some 2,000 Rohingyas, fleeing communal violence in Myanmar, were intercepted in Thailand in early 2013, while trying to reach Malaysia.

Central government funding to provide food and basic care to the refugees is minimal and donations from local communities have dried up, prompting the Head of the EU Delegation to Thailand, David Lipman, to express the EU's concern about conditions in these facilities.

"We are worried that the unhealthy and overcrowded conditions inside these facilities are detrimental to the health of the refugees" he explained.

"Men and boys are being held in separate facilities from their families and they live in constant fear of being repatriated. We therefore urge the government to work together with international agencies in finding durable solutions for these refugees." 

Following inter-communal violence in Rakhine State in Myanmar, thousands of Rohingyas have been fleeing on boats, hoping to reach Malaysia. 

Since January some 2,000 Rohingya men, women and children have been detained, while trying to cross Thailand into Malaysia. Rohingya families have been split up, with women and children sent to government-run shelters separate from the men, who are placed in immigration detention centres.

May 5, 2013

Official response to riots last year was deeply flawed and probably racist Some people had hoped the government inquiry into violence in Rakhine state would be an opportunity for Myanmar to show the world it has graduated from the rigid mindset imposed on the nation during decades of military dictatorship.

But sadly, the government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has missed a chance to show the world that it has maturity to expose the violence in the western state for what it really is. 

The Thein Sein government recently released a report by a state-appointed panel into the violence in June and October last year. International observers were hoping that this long-delayed report would show that Myanmar is prepared to address the issue of race relations head on. But in the end, the report was little more than a cop-out. 

Besides the fact that it said nothing about sentiment about the Rohingya, there were no suggestion on how the country should address this issue in a meaningful manner. 

The rioting mobs in Rakhine state must be tickled pink to see the Rohingyas referred to throughout the report as "Bengalis", a derogatory term used to challenge the legitimacy of their claim to be an ethnic nationality - one of more than 130 - living within Myanmar's nation-state.

The Rohingyas' problem stems from the fact that Myanmar's 1982 Citizenship Act basically denied them any form of citizenship. The government-appointed, 27-member commission suggested that the government should "examine" the citizenship status of people in Rakhine state. But by the look of it, this is an open-ended suggestion that may never see the light of day.

There was another suggestion which also seemed racist, saying that the Rohingyas be given "family-planning education" because they "breed too much". 

Just as worrying was the recommendation that the government should continue to keep Rohingya Muslims separate from Sittwe and other major Rakhine-majority towns. Safety was cited as the explanation but according to international observers who visited these areas, "the idea is to deny the Muslims the property on which they lived."

What about reintegrating communities affected by the riots? Dream on, the observers said, pointing to the fact that the government already has less desirable plots of land for the Muslims. So their move to temporary shelters now looks like becoming permanent segregation. 

If the government can't even acknowledge the root cause of the problem, while at the same time ignores the issue of discrimination and accountability, what hope does Myanmar has in becoming a responsible player in the regional and international community?

There was other criticism aside from the fact the government took so long to reach a conclusion, and coming up with recommendations that are off-base or counter-productive. John Sifton of Human Rights Watch said: "The recommendation to double the local security force size in [Rakhine state], for instance, completely overlooks the fact that these forces were complicit in the violence that led to the commission being appointed in the first place. That raises strong questions about the objectivity and intentions of the report authors.

"There is simply no doubt that local security forces were complicit in the violence, in some cases taking part in the violence directly or else standing by as Buddhist mobs attacked Rohingya people. If you don't offer any criticism of the fact that no one has been arrested or held accountable for this violence, there is clearly something wrong with your report," he said.

HRW said the ethnic violence, which saw hundreds killed and more than 120,000 people forced to flee their homes, was a crime against humanity. 

According to Myanmar government figures, more than 8,600 homes were also destroyed. Most troubling is the fact that the more than 100,000 people displaced were Rohingyas and other Muslims. They deserve better than this from a country that aspires to be the regional head of Asean next year.

April 27, 2013

This week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report that highlights gross rights abuses and possible ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in western Myanmar.

Partners Relief & Development (PRAD) confirms that HRW's claims are in line with what its staff has seen and heard in Arakan State. More than 120,000 people are still in desperate need of emergency relief. The humanitarian situation is close to a catastrophe. People lack everything from food and medicine to tarps and blankets.

I have interviewed more than 30 people who in some way have been victims of violence in Arakan over the last year. They testify to horrific acts of violence where not even children were spared. They confirm that both police and army officials participated in the violence. They speak of unlawful arrests, torture and rape. These are people who are living in hopeless despair.

One woman I talked to cried uncontrollably as she told us of the massacre of her 29 relatives, among them her seven children and 18 grandchildren.

PRAD wants to support HRW in demanding an immediate change in Arakan. The Myanmar government must immediately investigate the acts of violence, and the offenders must be brought to justice. The Rohingya people must be given back the citizenship they lost in 1982. Humanitarian-aid organisations must get free access to the areas in greatest need. 

PRAD also wants to encourage the international community to take this situation seriously and reconsider if financial investment in the Myanmar is justifiable as long as the government is not able to put and end to the serious rights abuses against the Rohingya people.


Oddny Gumaer
PRAD advocacy officer

The Nation
April 7, 2013

Thirteen Myanmar soldiers earlier reported as having been killed in a clash with unidentified armed forces on the Thai-Myanmar border were actually lost in a forest but are now safe, according to the Myanmar authorities. 

Myanmar also retracted its earlier report that an armed clash had erupted on the border in southern Ranong province, at the same location where 92 Thais were arrested last year.

Army deputy spokesman Winthai Suwaree said yesterday that the Thai authorities were informed that the inaccurate report was the result of miscommunication. 

The 13 soldiers were patrolling in the area at a time when a bush-fire occurred, he said. 

Cracking sounds caused by the fire were mistaken as gunfire by colleagues of the patrolling soldiers listening in on the other end of radio communications. After reporting to their base, they patrolling soldiers lost contact, which led the local Myanmar authorities to seek help from their Thai counterparts after the soldiers could not be located, according to the Thai Army spokesman.

"The latest report from the Myanmar authorities was that it was a misunderstanding. They asserted that there was no armed clash in the border area and there were no deaths at all," the spokesman said.

In Ranong, Colonel Uthit Anantananont, deputy commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment's Special Taskforce, which is responsible for the border area in question, said yesterday that the 13 Myanmar soldiers were found by their colleagues' search party deep in a forest in Myanmar. 

The patrol team had 15 soldiers and only two of them had managed to find their way back to the base before the search began, Uthit said. "Now the situation is considered to have returned to normal in the border area between Thailand's Ranong and Myanmar's Kawthaung," he said.

He added that a trip by the 4th Army Area commander to Ranong to look into the matter had been cancelled after the latest report from the Myanmar authorities.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul yesterday also confirmed that there had been a misunderstanding, saying the cracking sound of burning trees was mistaken by the missing soldiers' colleagues as gunfire.

In July last year, Myanmar authorities arrested 92 Thais in the border area opposite Ranong's Kra Buri district for encroaching on Myanmar territory. Eighty-eight of them were eventually released but the rest have been detained on weapons and drug-trafficking charges.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
March 13, 2013

It is does not matter what they are known as - Rohingya or Bengali - but they must have basic rights and be protected from violence and fear while living in Myanmar, which is supposed to be their homeland. 

In responding to violence in western Rakhine state, the authorities in Myanmar tried to launch a political discourse to say there are no people called Rohingya in the country, and therefore the authorities have no responsibility for what happened to them.

Rather than finding the truth and the root cause of the violence in June and October last year, lawmakers, officials and intellectuals in Myanmar are debating the very existence of the ethnic group called Rohingya. They have tried to build a consensus within their society and the international community to deny the existence of Rohingya and call them instead "Bengali", to make this group of people seem alien.

The latest report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, indicates that "Rakhine state is going through a profound crisis". The violence might spread to other parts of the country and has the potential to undermine the country's entire reform process, the report said.

The violence caused by the communal conflict between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya or 'Bengalis', as many in Myanmar call them, saw nearly 200 people killed and more than 100 others injured. About 120,000 people have been displaced in the state since initial clashes last June.

There have also been ongoing allegations of harassment, arbitrary arrests, arbitrary restriction of movement, destruction of places of worship and restrictions on religious worship, the UN report said.

The 27-member Investigation Commission set up by President Thein Sein on August 17, 2012 to investigate the violence was originally due to present its report in November, but is now scheduled to present its report on March 31, 2013, the UN said.

It is widely feared that the government-sponsored investigation report will not properly address the rights issue and the truth of what happened. Judging from what Myanmar officials, lawmakers and the elite in society are discussing these days, perhaps such fears might become true. The Investigation Commission's report might not reflect the reality.

Quintana emphasised in his report that "establishing the truth of what has happened and holding those responsible to account will be integral to reconciliation and re-establishing trustful and harmonious relations between communities".

Feeling of fear, distrust, hatred and anger remained high between Buddhist and Muslim communities in the state. Prejudice, bias and discrimination on the basis of race and religions are major obstacles to find out the truth.

As a result of discrimination, treatment of the Muslim population now living in camps for internally displaced persons in Rakhine state is not proper, as they face restrictions on movement. They cannot access food or enjoy a normal livelihood.

As long as the promotion of a political discourse to paint the Rohingya as "outsiders" in Myanmar goes on, discrimination against some 800,000 Muslim Rohingya will continue.

A basic requirement to resolve the problem in Rakhine state is a review of the Rohingyas' legal status and their access to basic rights. As long as Myanmar society regards them as "others", foreigners or aliens, the Rohingya or Bengalis will not able to live in harmony with Rakhine people.

Myanmar intellectuals and the elite are keen to promote this political discourse. Some two decades ago, they coined the name "Myanmar", and changed the country's name from Burma, in order to include all races and nationalities into the notion of state building for modern times.

To carry forward the spirit of "Myanmar", the Rohingya should be included, rather than excluded.


Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
February 27, 2013

The issue of the Rohingya and violence in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine will never be resolved unless the elite in the country adjust their attitude towards this ethnic minority and include them in the notion of a state.

Strong reaction from lawmakers, legal experts and citizens of Myanmar against a call for a citizenship law amendment made by Thomas Quintana, the UN’s Human Rights Envoy to Myanmar a week ago, shows the complexity and sensitivity of the issue in the country.

Quintana recommended Myanmar amend the 1982 citizenship law to end discrimination against many ethnic groups, notably the Muslim Rohingya who are in conflict with the Buddhist Rakhine and authorities.

The UN official, indeed, is not the first person to address this issue of improving the human rights record in Myanmar. Many progressive figures, rights groups and non-government organisations, have consistently urged authorities to adjust the law to fit to new circumstances in a modern world.

To their concern, the law narrowly defines only some, not all, ethnic people as citizens of Myanmar.

Article 3 of Chapter II of the law says "nationals such as the Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Burman, Mon, Rakhine or Shan and ethnic groups as have settled in any of the territories included within the State as their permanent home from a period anterior to 1185 BE, 1823 AD are Burma citizens."

The law defines Burmese as Burman and uses the term 'Burma citizen' as it was written before the name of the country was changed to Myanmar.

Myanmar registered 135 ethnic groups as its citizens, but Rohingya, whom the authorities call Bengali, were not included as an ethnic grouping in the country under the 1982 law.

The Deputy Minister for Immigration and Population Kyaw Kyaw Tun, replied to a question by Khin Saw Wai, an MP representing Rakhine State, during a parliamentary session of the Lower House last week, that there were no Rohingya in Myanmar.

"There has never been a Rohingya race in Rakhine State. According to the censuses conducted in 1973 and in 1983, the country’s ethnic groups include no Rohingya. That term was not mentioned either in the British gazettes," Kyaw Kyaw Tun said.

According to the census, non-ethnic citizens in Myanmar included Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Bengali and Nepalese, he said.

Bengali, the term used by Myanmar authorities and the elite in the country, were migrants taken by the British Empire into Myanmar before it regained independence in 1948. They were made to engage in farm work.

Myanmar did not accept other historical arguments that the Muslim Rohingya had their own kingdoms before an expansion of Buddhists from the Irrawaddy valley in the 17th-18th centuries.

However, whatever they are called, Myanmar law recognises only the third generation of Bengali born to their parents who came to live in Myanmar before 1948. The rest, or those who failed to prove the connection with that generation, are regarded as illegal migrants.

Myanmar's concern for the migrant issue is based on security. Many lawmakers oppose the idea to amend the citizenship law as they fear a loose law might allow 'non-citizens' to enter the country easily. Some lawmakers even called on the legislative body to amend citizenship laws to provide for tougher punishment for illegal migrants.

Next month, President Thein Sein will receive a report from an investigation commission set up to probe violence in the Rakhine state.

The final report, which claims to be a comprehensive one to address the causes and reasons for the conflict, would be meaningless unless it mentions the real and deep roots that have been implanted in the mindset of the upper hierarchy of the country.

Atapoom Ongkulna & Narong Nuansakul
The Nation
February 7, 2013

House Standing Committee on State Security chairman Weng Tojirakan yesterday discussed the Rohingya migrant issue and recommended talks with Myanmar to repatriate them or contact the United Nations to find a third country to take them in. National Human Rights Commission's head of violation inspection division, Kesarin Tiangsakul, said it found many women and children among the Rohingya migrants who aimed to work in Malaysia and Indonesia, using Thailand as a transit point.

After they were arrested - and Thai law could detain them for six months - the government had to find a solution to the problem because these people couldn't be repatriated elsewhere. It also had to provide them with care on a humanitarian basis, Kesarin said.

Kesarin said Songkhla's Immigration Police Bureau only had a meal budget of Bt45 per detainee per day, or Bt15 per meal, and they had to depend on kind-hearted donors.

Pol Lt Col Paisit Sangkhahapong, an expert at the Department of Special Investigation’s anti-human trafficking centre, said DSI investigation initially found most Rohingya people were willing to migrate while there were Thais and foreigners involved in smuggling them into the Kingdom. These smugglers then applied deception, force and took advantage of the refugees.

Paisit suggested that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs should negotiate with Myanmar to take these people back, or talk with the UN and UNHCR to send them back to their origin or to a third country.

In Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok district, the combined security force yesterday raided six locations suspected of housing Rohingya migrants and arrested six suspects at one location. They were a roti shop owner identified only as Nurusalam, 55, and five other Rohingya and Myanmar people.

The six locations were allegedly run by a Rohingya trade network led by Yusuf Ali who reportedly bought the Rohingya from agencies in Ranong.

The Nation
February 4, 2013

The Rohingya immigrant issue is an internal affair of Myanmar, which Asean members should address on humanitarian grounds, former Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said yesterday. 

At the root of the problem is the fact that Myanmar's constitution and internal laws do not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, he said. Other groups in Myanmar don't accept the Rohingya, who are based mainly in Rakhine and number about 800,000 in all, he said, adding: "This has to be dealt with gradually, as Myanmar authorities are worried about intervention from the outside world."

"The United Nations has been working on the Rohingya issue, but has to be careful in dealing with it, and Asean needs to address it, especially on humanitarian grounds," he said.

Surin was speaking at a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat run and sponsored by the Pitsuwan family. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn made a private visit to the Ban Tal pondok school. Surin said the princess had sponsored 14 such schools in the South, including those located in the upper part of the region, where subjects were taught in Thai.

Meanwhile, another 145 Rohingya aboard a Malaysia-bound boat entered Thai waters off the Trang coast yesterday, before they were provided with fresh water and supplies and had their vessel towed out of Thai waters. Two of them are women and there were two children on board.

Marine Police said no arrests were made, because of insufficient shelter that would be needed to house them afterwards. The food supplies provided by the Red Cross included canned fish, omelettes and medical assistance were not provided despite many of them being exhausted and starving, after their fresh water and supplies run out two days ago.

Reporters complained about not being allowed to follow a police boat to cover the provision of supplies. Marine Police claimed that their presence would cause panic among the Rohingya.
(Photo - YATEEM TV)
Somjit Rungjamrasrassamee
The Nation
February 1, 2013

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Friday urged all involved countries to provide assistance to Rohingya refugees leaving Myanmar. 

UNHCR's senior regional public information officer, Vivian Tan, said the Rohingya people's journey out of their homeland was often full of risk and hundreds had died along the way. 

"Many use small boats to travel over the sea for well over 10 days," she said. 

She was speaking as she visited UNHCR officials along the Thai - Myanmar border. 

The Rohingya are the Muslim minority in Myanmar, where many have reported being subjected to severe discrimination and brutality. 

Last month, Thailand found an increasing number of Rohingya people illegally entering its territory. 

Locals in Ban Chalung, Hat Yai district, Songkhla, Friday reported spotting Rohingya people hiding in the forest. The local people were helping in the authorities' search for the refugees. 

A number of Rohingya have reportedly hidden themselves at various camps in Thailand's forest lands waiting for illegal agents to send them to their employers in Malaysia. After officials raided several camps, the agents left the Rohingya camps and many found it hard to find food to survive. 

At least 26 have already come forward to ask for help. However, many more are still in hiding. 

"The Rohingyas have told us their friends have not yet come forward," Hat Yai district chief Seree Panichkul said Friday.
(Photo - Kritsada Mueanhawong/Phuket Gazette)
The Nation
January 31, 2013

The National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday insisted that Thailand would not set up a refugee camp for Rohingyas who had fled violence in Myanmar and arrived in Thailand's southern provinces. 

NSC secretary general Lt Gen Paradorn Pattanathabutr said that 1,400 Rohingyas are currently detained in various southern provinces after illegally entering the country.

According to the Thai immigration laws, the country would detain them for no longer than six months, he said. The country would assist them in humanitarian terms and would allow them to stay here on a temporary basis.

"We will neither upgrade the problem to international level nor open refugee camps to accommodate them," he said.

"We have a clear position to help them on a humanitarian basis. As for the Rohingyas found on board boats in the sea, we will provide them with water and food but we will not allow them to enter Thai territory," he said.

Paradon said Thailand is not a target of Rohingyas, adding that their destination is Malaysia. "The Thai authorities have already talked and asked cooperation from Malaysia. We would like the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to help us talk to Malaysia," he said.

The Rohingyas are fleeing sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Suplak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
January 30, 2013

The best place on earth to discuss the Rohingya issue is Myanmar - and it's timely to raise the issue with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw now as they are in the process of seeking political reform for national reconciliation. And reform cannot take effect unless the Rohingya issue is addressed.Thailand alone, although receiving thousands of ethnic Rohingya annually, cannot solve the problem at the root without good cooperation in Myanmar. Arrest, detention, deportation - as Thailand is doing currently - will not help end the problem. Humanitarian assistance, if any, is just a temporary measure for survival but won't help them to have sustainable better lives.

Trafficking syndicates might take some blame, but they indeed are just facilitators to help the migrants get out of their place of origin and reach new homes.

The Rohingya issue is not new. Thailand arrests thousands of them annually as illegal migrants. News reports on illegal migrant Rohingya appear in the media around this time every year. Sometimes such reports provoke attention from the authorities and international community, but they will never lead to a permanent resolution to end their problem.

The Rohingya are leaving where they come from because they cannot live comfortably due to several disturbing factors: historical, cultural, religious, economic and political. People in Myanmar, who call them 'Bengali', rather than Rohingya, are debating the origins of these people. Many in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where the Rohingya mostly live, regard them as "foreign or alien" and feel very uncomfortable living with them. A series of major clashes between Rakhine and Rohingya people left a score of deaths last year. There are 135 registered ethnic groups in Myanmar but Rohingya are not included in the official list. The Myanmar elite used to recognise them as a part of the nation but there were several attempts during the dictatorial regime in the 1970s to delete them from the notion of state building and make them out as strangers. Some 200,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh since then.

They follow the Muslim faith, while the vast majority of the community is Buddhist. There is nothing wrong being Muslim in a predominantly Buddhist society, but that difference can stir up ethno-religious problems. Normal crime can easily develop into sectarian conflict, with two different religions never trusting each other, as happened in Rakhine State in June and October last year.

The clashes last year displaced at least 70,000 people who are currently living in 50 refugee camps scattered near Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State. The authorities are looking at places for permanent settlement for them, but such a plan raises concern among Rakhine people, as they fear they can't live peacefully with the Rohingya. They demanded a public hearing before any decision to resettle the Rohingya in any part of Rakhine State.

Politically, the ethnic Rohingya formed many organisations struggling for some certain degree of self-rule since 1947. The Rohingya political movements are not so strong, but have some voice to show they exist. The most active one these days is Arakan Rohingya National Organisation - ARNO - which tries to unite all ethnic Rohingya in the struggle.

Myanmar officials regard Rohingya political organisations as terrorists and have no peace plan for this ethnic group, although many other armed ethnic groups have drawn up truces.

To solve the Rohingya issue, all con?cerned parties in Myanmar need to readjust their basic attitude toward them first. The government needs to consider them as national citizens and look into the real root cause of the conflict they have with other groups, and with the state of Myanmar. Otherwise they will not cease taking refuge in other countries.

Supitcha Rattana & Piyanuch Thamnukasetchai
The Nation 
January 25, 2013

Seeks to 'clear air' over reports hundreds smuggled into province for work 

Narathitwat Governor Apinan Seutananuwong has ordered a probe into reports that more than 700 Rohingya have been smuggled into the southern province after crossing the border from Myanmar. 

"I don't know how the reports have come out. But to clear the air, I have told relevant officials to investigate," he said yesterday. 

Apinan said he had not heard that hundreds of illegal Rohingya migrants were in his province until media featured the reports. 

"We will probe deeply into the matter," he said. 

If the reports are confirmed, the number of Rohingya found illegally entering Thailand this month could soar past 2,000.

As of Wednesday, official statistics showed at least 1,381 Rohingya were being detained in various spots by officials for illegal entry. All of them were believed to have just arrived in Thailand. 

Described by the UN as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, the Muslim Rohingya have been denied citizenship and face ongoing persecution in their native Myanmar. Several of the latest arrivals to Thailand have reported suffering severe discrimination and brutality in their homeland.

The Fourth Army Area has launched a probe into an allegation that the Rohingya are being trafficked into Thailand with the help of Thai soldiers. 

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) had so far found no evidence of trafficking, DSI chief Tarit Pengdith said yesterday. 

"At this point, we can't conclude that these cases are about human trafficking," Tarit said.

He said available information to date had shown that the Rohingya had illegally entered Thailand in search of work. 

"There's no sign they were duped or physically mistreated," he said. 

Tarit said the DSI would take over cases related to the Rohingya if further evidence suggested that they were victims of human trafficking. 

He assigned DSI deputy chief Yanaphon Youngyuen to attend a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Ministry about the Rohingya today.

In a related development, a Songkhla man surrendered himself to police yesterday to face charges of sheltering and detaining illegal migrants. Saroj Kaewmaneechote had been sought by police after they found a group of Rohingya at his home in Songkhla's border district of Sadao earlier this month. 

Montae sae Lor, a 58-year-old Thai, and Dorlohmae, a 55-year-old Myanmarese, were arrested and charged with supervising the Rohingya for Saroj. 

"We have found that agents for illegal migrant workers have had Malaysian accomplices too," said Songkhla's deputy police chief Colonel Krissakorn Pleethanyawong. 

Also yesterday, officials from organisations including the Sheikhul Islam Office, the Songkhla Islamic Committee and the International Committee of the Red Cross yesterday met and agreed to set up a co-ordination committee to facilitate the flow of assistance to the Rohingya in Thailand.

The Nation
January 23, 2013

Accused Isoc officers based at Chumphon; Sukampol 'angry' over allegations against lieutenant, major, colonel 

The Army is investigating at least three military officers accused of trafficking Rohingya refugees into the Kingdom.

The news came as a fresh group of 179 boat people landed in southern Phang Nga province yesterday, with more boats headed this way.

The three military officers were assigned to work for the Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) Ranong Attachment, according to Fourth Army Area chief Lt-General Udomchai Thammasarorach. They have been stationed in Chumphon province.

"Defence Minister Sukampol Suwannathat has instructed me to order the investigation and we have already set up a committee to look into the case," Udomchai told The Nation yesterday.

Udomchai had a closed-door meeting to discuss the matter with Sukampol, who was in Pattani on an inspection of the far South.

The minister appeared angry to learn about the alleged involvement of military officers in the trafficking of Rohingya, a source close to the meeting said.

The accused officers hold the rank of major, colonel and lieutenant, the source said, noting that their commander - a colonel who heads their unit in Chumphon - is also being investigated.

"The military officers in question have said that they used military vehicles to transport the Rohingya for humanitarian assistance, not because they were involved in human trafficking," Udomchai said.

The allegation against the Army officers arose after more than 850 Rohingya were found in the far South earlier this month. Many of them complained of inhumane treatment in their homeland, Myanmar, because the government does not accept them as citizens.

Meanwhile, the latest group of 179 Rohingya refugees arrived in Phang Nga province after maritime police found them floating in a vessel offshore, according to Kura Buri deputy district police chief Laksanawong Rampansuwan.

People on the boat said it took them 16 days to journey from Rakhine state to Thai waters, he said, adding that more Rohingya were on the way and expected to land soon.

On Monday, Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said any soldiers found to be involved in human trafficking would be expelled and prosecuted.

An investigation by the BBC, revealed on their website, alleges Thai officials have been selling boat people from Myanmar to human traffickers.

BBC news reports allege Thai Navy personnel are also part of the trafficking ring. A source close to Rohingya residing in Thailand said they learnt of Navy officers benefiting from the scam, through cooperation with Myanmar nationals and Rohingya agents.

The Phuketwan website, which won awards for helping to reveal the "pushback" of Rohingya boats four years ago, has similar claims.

Yesterday, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials visited ethnic Rohingya detained in Thailand to determine their need to move to a third country. At the time of their arrest, many Rohingya said they wanted a new, safe place to live.

Manasvi Srisodapol, who heads Thailand's Department of Information, said help would be needed from the international community, and third countries, to solve the problems of the Rohingya in the short and long term.

"We have already talked to the Myanmar authorities and the UNHCR about assistance," he said.

Security agencies in Thailand are concerned about the growing number of Rohingya arriving by boat on the Andaman coast other illegal migrants in Thailand.

"We are not ready to host more shelters for the Rohingya here in Ranong," Colonel Narin Phannarai said. He is a deputy chief of a unit overseeing internal security there.

Officials say national security will be jeopardised if the number of illegal aliens grows too big.

In a related development, Thais have donated food and clothing to the Rohingya now detained in Thailand. Songkhla Provincial Islamic Committee has opened a bank account (Islamic Bank of Thailand No. 934 1 48557 6,) to accept donations for the Rohingya. Bt2 million has already been donated.

Despite Thai authorities' pledge to treat the Rohingya well on humanitarian grounds, Ranong residents showed dismay over the influx of immigrants and vowed to oppose the setting up of a refugee camp in the southern coastal province, their leader said last Sunday.

Sucheep Patthong said his group would launch protests if there were reports indicating the government intended to open a Rohingya refugee camp in Ranong. Sucheep said he had sympathy for the Rohingya people but if they were allowed to live in a refugee camp in Ranong, it would have a negative impact on the local people.

"Ranong is already suffering enough from some 100,000 immigrant workers living in the province. This has led to social, security and public health problems," Sucheep added.


The Nation
January 22, 2013

Flood of refugees should be discussed by Asean, NHRC says. 

Ethnic Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar deserve the attention of Asean as their problems are huge, a panel of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says.

Panel chairwoman Angkhana Neelapaijit spoke yesterday after visiting some Rohingya people in Narathiwat.

More than 800 Rohingya were found to have illegally entered southern Thailand earlier this month to escape alleged violence in Myanmar. The news put the media spotlight and public attention squarely on them.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority community from Rakhine state in western Myanmar.

"This issue is big. It should be addressed at the Asean level. Myanmar is also a member of the regional grouping," Angkhana said.

NHRC chairwoman Amara Pongsapich visited the Rohingya people with Angkhana.

At the same time, Senator Jate Sirataranont urged Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to raise the issue of the Rohingya with Nay Pyi Taw, Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

"We need to find a balance between humanitarian issues and security concerns," he said.

Angkhana said the Thai government must also discuss the Rohingya with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration, the Red Cross and Unicef.

Jate argued that Thai authorities must send the Rohingya refugees to a third, Muslim country as fast as possible. However, as the process may take time, he believed the government should set up more temporary shelters for them.

Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, however, expressed concern about creating more shelters for the Rohingya. "We can't take in too many people otherwise problems will arise in the long run. We have to take care of our national security," he said.

It has been claimed there are more than 130,000 Rohingya in Thailand - although rights activists have suggested the figure is a fraction of that. But no third country has expressed an interest in taking them so far.

Prayuth said Thai authorities should only provide humanitarian aid pending deportation of the Rohingya back to their homeland, or their move to a third country.

"We won't ignore the humanitarian principles but we also must pay attention to our national interests," he said.

He threatened action against any soldier involved in smuggling the Rohingya, given more claims of officers demanding money to escort refugees or economic migrants who want help to enter Malaysia.

Ranong Tourism Association adviser Nit Ouitekkeng said the number of illegal migrants in the province was growing fast and it had caused social, public-health, environmental and security problems.

"This means our province's tourism potential is hurt. We are worried about safety problems," she said, pointing out that thefts - sometimes blamed on the refugees - had taken place.

The Nation
January 20, 2013

Thai officials will go to an island off Phang Nga today after another boatload of Rohingya refugees - thought to be the fourth over the past week or so - was found there late yesterday. Officials said the refugees were hiding in jungle on the unnamed island and it was too dark to try to round them up last night.

The arrival of two more vessels - one on the island, and another towed ashore near Khura Buri on Friday means about 1,000 Rohingya have landed on Thailand's Andaman coast or been captured in Sadao, further south, this month.

Meanwhile, five more vessels are allegedly at sea and heading this way, according to refugees on the "third" vessel, who came ashore on Friday.

Some 114 people were on "third" boat that arrived in Phang Nga province on Friday, about 100km south of Ranong. These refugees, aged from 60 to a one-year-old baby, were said to be in a very weak condition as they had run out of food and water, despite having stopped and collected water on an island on their 13-day journey south.

A translator working for Al Jazeera said the Rohingya on the "third" boat told provincial officials they were on one of eight boats that left Sittwe together. Only three of these had arrived in Thailand to date. The eight boats drifted apart over the past two weeks and the location of the other five is unknown.

Sittwe is a port in Arakan State (also known as Rakhine State) in western Myanmar close to sites where ethnic violence caused more than 100 deaths and forced tens of thousands of people - mostly Muslims - to flee their homes in June and then again just a few months ago. 

District officials were overseeing aid for the "third" boatload at the district hall in Khura Buri yesterday. Medics and local Muslims were helping to give out medicine, food and blankets. Many people on this boat were sick, none were said to have died during the trip.

Four teenage boys who had been on the "third" vessel but hid from Thai authorities on an island off the coast before it was towed to the mainland, wandered into the camp yesterday to join their friends after getting a lift to the mainland on another boat. 

All up some 114 on the "third" vessel had been charged by police for illegal entry into Thailand.

Meanwhile, about 550 were found in raids in Sadao, further south, and 135 arrived on two vessels that arrived last week. 

Officials in Khura Buri said they were waiting to hear from top authorities in Bangkok on what to do with the latest arrivals. 

Many of the Rohingya survivors have been stuck in refugee camps not far from Sittwe living in bleak conditions and facing an uncertain future, given that Nay Pyi Taw has refused to recognise them as citizens, and asked United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in June to resettle them. 

The Myanmar government calls the Rohingya "Bengalis" and insists they arrived in their country in recent times, despite evidence by academics that this ethnic group has lived in the Rakhine area for several centuries.
(Photo - Phuket Wan)
The Nation
January 18, 2013

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday visited the ethnic Rohingyas who are taking shelter at a police station in Songkhla province.Bjorn Rahm, an ICRC detention delegate met a group of 20 Rohingyas at Hat Yai police station where they are being detained.

Members of the group have been rounded up in the province since January 13.

A source said that ICRC staff met the group in the detention room and asked about their lives in Myanmar before fleeing to Thailand as well as their current living conditions. 

The ICRC seemed happy with the Thai authority's care of the Rohingyas including the clean rooms. Basic necessities would be provided to the group by the ICRC pending legal procedures.

According to reports on Thursday, a total of 897 Rohinyas have now emerged and asked for help from the authorities in the southern provinces of Songkhla, Narathiwat, Trang, Pattani and Pangna.

Many more are believed to be hiding in the mountains between Songkhla and Satun.

The Thai government earlier agreed to let the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have access to Rohingya refugees and approved temporary assistance for a group discovered hiding in Songkhla until their status is determined.

The Rohingya from the Rakhine State in western Myanmar lost their rights to citizenship and property in 1982 by legislation that did not include them in that country’s recognised ethnic minority groups.

Last year, the Rohingya were the target of ethnic clashes in Rakhine that left more than 100 dead and 115,000 displaced.


The Nation
January 18, 2013

Ministries to discuss whether to set up a camp, Chalerm says

Relief operations by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help Rohingya migrants are set to begin in earnest now that Thai authorities have given the go-ahead, agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan said yesterday.

The announcement came as officials detained another 60 Rohingya yesterday. The migrants were found on a boat off Ranong's Muang district that was attempting to dock. The new arrivals bring to 917 the number of Rohingya who have entered Thailand illegally from Myanmar in recent weeks.

While the government works out operational measures, the UNHCR will start by interviewing the 857 Myanmar-based exiles and take other measures to verify details provided by them. In the meantime, the UNHCR will decide what steps to take and in which areas help is most needed, before finally providing full-scale assistance, Tan said.

Asked about the possibility of setting up a camp to temporarily hold the 857 Rohingyas on Thai soil, Tan said the UNHCR would not go beyond frameworks to be established by the government.

Former Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan commented that Thailand should not rush in its handling of the issue by being overly focused on immediate repatriation. He warned that this would affect the Kingdom's positive image in the international community as a country with a history of extending hospitality to refugees fleeing violence. Resolving the problems facing Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingyas would ultimately have to involve the Myanmar authorities.

Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who has responsibility for internal security issues, said the Foreign Ministry had been assigned to interview the Rohingyas, and that it was important for Thailand to handle the issue carefully, on humanitarian and immigration grounds.

Chalerm said he had no concerns that the Muslim Rohingyas would get involved with the insurgency in the deep South. "What is problematic is their [possible] future illegal entry into Thailand in the long term. This is a very delicate matter and Thailand needs to protect its interests while not violating human rights," he said.

Asked about the possibility of setting up a camp to accommodate the newly arrived immigrants, Chalerm said he would need to discuss the matter with the Interior and Foreign ministries, along with security officials, before making a decision.

"We would need to find third countries who are ready to accommodate [the Rohingya], possibly Muslim countries, as they have abundant accommodation and funding," he said.

Four of the Rohingya exiles yesterday staged a protest outside the Foreign Ministry compound asking Thailand not to repatriate the group. They plan to submit their request to the British, US, Australian and Malaysian embassies.

Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul had received the request, and was expected to consider it at a ministry meeting next week.

The four also called on Thai authorities to search for a number of their fellow migrants who had gone missing during their journey to Thailand, which took them through jungles and across the sea. 

The Sheikhul Islam Office, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand and the provincial Islamic councils in the five deep South provinces issued an open letter calling for sympathy from Thai people and assigning the council in Songkhla to act as centre of assistance. Aid would be distributed from there to all locations where the 857 currently reside.

The statement called on Thai authorities not to repatriate the Rohingya to Myanmar, while welcoming donations to an account named Assistance Fund for Rohingyas, account number 934-1-48557-6, at the Islamic Bank of Thailand's Hat Yai branch.


    • Rohingya Exodus