Review: Thai's constructive engagem

[MSoe9872@xxxxxxx]

Subject: Review: Thai's constructive engagement policy toward Burma

Subject:  Please Review: Thai's constructive engagement policy toward Burma
<A HREF="http://www.student.ipfw.edu/~soem01";>http://www.student.ipfw.edu/~soe
m01</A>
Lost wages forced illegals' return

THE hundred-plus Burmese who swam back to Thailand after being forced out of
the country at the beginning of the Nov 4 crackdown on illegal workers, merely
wanted to collect their unpaid salaries, a senior policeman said yesterday. 

Police Gen Sant Sarutanon, a deputy national police commissioner in his
capacity as a member of the sub-committee trying to find solutions to the
problem of illegal foreign labour, said their employers had not paid the 
wages.


''Some employers were really helpful. On the day the crackdown began, they
transported their [illegal] Burmese workers to us. I wonder if they intended 
to
ignore some unpaid wages,'' Sant said, tongue in cheek. 

The policeman denied earlier reports that the Burmese swam across the border
river into Thailand after oppressive acts by Burmese soldiers. He said his
reliable informant in Burma, a Buddhist monk, did not witness such incidents. 

Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said yesterday he had assigned permanent 
secretary
for labour Prasong Rananan to look into the issue of unpaid wages. 

He said action should be taken against employers who intended to take 
advantage
of a government crackdown by refusing to pay the money they owed to immigrant
workers. 

''It's both unfair and unethical,'' Chuan said. 

The prime minister, however, stressed that the crackdown would go on, without
exception, as the large number of illegal aliens was seen as a threat to
national security and a source of social problems. 

The number of illegal Burmese immigrants is estimated at more than one 
million.


Sant said yesterday the crackdown on illegal workers was necessary and that 
the
government should stick to its policy. He added that the illegals posed three
major problems for Thailand: they were a security threat; they created a 
higher
crime rate; and they caused higher unemployment among Thais. 

Deputy Labour Minister Jongchai Thiangtham said yesterday representatives from
businesses that still required foreign labour would meet with government
representatives next week to discuss the matter. 

However, he advised the employers to improve the conditions of their factories
to make them more attractive to Thai workers. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan yesterday defended Thailand's 
action
in pushing illegal Burmese workers across the border, saying Thai authorities
were doing their best to facilitate the repatriation and ensuring that it was
conducted safely. 

Surin said Thailand must tackle the chronic problem of illegal workers which
posed a wide range of threats including security, crime, health and 
sanitation.


Speaking at a press conference, Surin said the relevant Thai authorities were
working closely to seek a viable solution to the problem of illegal workers 
and
to avoid any possible violence in their repatriation. 

''The Burmese workers who entered the country illegally are actually subject 
to
legal actions,'' he said. ''But they are not facing any charges of illegally
entering the country. What we are doing is trying to facilitate their 
return.''


Surin dismissed a rumour that Burma had stipulated that Nov 14 was the 
deadline
for the return of the workers after which they would be denied entry. 

''We have checked on the information, it is false and is aimed at creating
confusion,'' he said. 

He said both Rangoon and the Burmese Embassy in Thailand had confirmed that 
the
Burmese government had made no such announcement. 

Hundreds of Burmese workers rushed to cross the Thai border on Thursday after
rumours of the deadline spread. 

Surin said that, according to international law, no country could refuse to
take back its own nationals. 

The Nation