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Civil rights groups slam Thailand's



[NOTE FROM DAVID ARNOTT: 

THIS WIRE MISSES  OUT SEVERAL MAJOR POINTS  THE OPEN LETTER IS MAKING  (SEE
BELOW FOR TEXT), INCLUDING THE FACT THAT THERE IS A MIXED POPULATION OF
REFUGEES AND MIGRANT WORKERS IN THAILAND, AND THAT THERE SHOULD BE PROCEDURES
TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THEM TO AVOID REFOULEMENT OF REFUGEES.

THE WIRE  ALSO REFERS TO "ILLEGAL WORKERS" -- NOT IN THE LETTER, WHICH USES
"MIGRANT WORKERS", "WORKERS" OR "REFUGEES".

IF I UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION CORRECTLY, REFUGEES TEND TO COME WITH THEIR
FAMILIES, INCLUDING CHILDREN, WHEREAS MIGRANT WORKERS TEND TO COME AS ADULTS. 
THIS WOULD SUGGEST THAT IN MANY OR MOST CASES, THE  DEPORTATION OF  CHILDREN IS
NOT JUST AN OFFENCE AGAINST HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES,  BUT IS AN ACT OF
REFOULEMENT WHICH IS PROBHIBITED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW.]

*********************************************
THE AFP WIRE

Civil rights groups slam Thailand's repatriation of Myanmar workers 
 
AFP, Bangkok, 20 November 1999. Thailand is targeting Myanmar women and
children in its campaign to deport an estimated one million
illegal workers, a group of Thai civil rights groups said Saturday. 

In an open letter printed in local newspapers, the 10 non-government groups
claimed Thai authorities were attempting "to pressure male workers by arresting
and repatriating their children and wives first." 

"The strategy ... is a clear violation of the right of the child not to be
separated from their parents, especially when there is no guarantee of their
families being reunited," it said. 

The letter, jointly signed by organisations including Forum Asia, the Friends
of Women Foundation and Child Rights-Asia Net also repeated allegations, denied
by the Yangon junta, that Myanmar troops
had raped some of the deportees and had threatened to shoot others. 

The groups urged the government to halt the crackdown, which has seen more than
9,000 people deported in under three weeks, until it was proven safe for the
illegal workers to return to Myanmar. 

The call follows criticism earlier this month from human rights watchdog
Amnesty International that refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar were being
caught up in the repatriation drive. 

No Thai officials were available for comment Saturday, but Foreign Minister
Surin Pitsuwan has said that all repatriated illegal workers were protected by
Thai basic law. 

The bid to deport an estimated one million illegal workers mainly from Myanmar,
as well as Cambodia and Laos, has also been criticised by local businessmen who
say the crackdown had caused dire labour
shortages. 

Illegal immigrants often work long hours for very low wages in conditions which
many Thais are reluctant to accept. 

The crackdown has been further complicated by Myanmar's closure of the border
in early October after five gunmen seized Yangon's embassy here, holding 38
people hostage. 

The junta was livid that Thailand provided the student gunmen with a helicopter
to escape to the border in a deal which ended the 24-hour siege. 


************************************
THE OPEN LETTER

> 17 September 1999 
> 
> 
 Demanding the Thai government to reconsider the repatriation of 
>migrant workers 

>To : The Interior Minister 
> The Labour and Social Welfare Minister 
> The Foreign Affair Minister 
> The Secretary-General of National Security Council 
> The Chief of National Police Bureau 
> The Chief of Immigration Police office 
> 
> The non-governmental organizations named below are deeply 
>concerned on the ongoing mass arrest and repatriation of the migrant 
>workers, especially those from Burma due to these facts below; 
> 
>1. Until now, the relations between Thailand and Burma has not returned to 
>normal yet. The Burmese government has still closed the border and 
>forbidding the migrant workers to cross the border back home. 

>2. The fact that the Burmese government has continued to refused the 
>return of the Burmese people, as has been reported by the media of the 
>event that the soldiers threatened the migrant workers by gunpoint to 
>return to Thailand, confirms that even though the Thai authorities were 
>able to find channels to push the people back, those returnees might not be 
>able to make it back home safely. 

>3. Though the news on human rights abuses against the repatriated migrant 
>workers, such as rape, bribery, investigate and extra-judicial killings 
>cannot be confirmed since the events happened in Burma's territory, the 
>human rights violations in Burma has been documented and circulated in 
>Thailand and the international community. We therefore cannot deny that 
>there is no truth in the news. 

>4. Among the estimated one million migrant workers from Burma in Thailand, 
>there are the refugees who are recognized by the United Nations High 
>Commissioners on Refugees, the refugees who are registered in the border 
>refugee camps, and the refugees who have not yet passed the process of 
>considering the status, especially the ethnic Shan people. These people 
>are in life-threatening danger if they are sent back to Burma. 

>5. The strategy, which was disclosed by the Thai authorities through 
>media's interview, to pressure the male workers by arresting and 
>repatriating their children and wives to Burma first, is a clear violation 
>of the rights of the child not to be separated from their parents 
>especially when there is no guarantee for their families to be reunited. 
> 
>Due to these facts, the non-governmental organizations demand the Thai 
>government to reconsider its policy of repatriation of migrant workers and 
>consider the recommendations below: 
> 

>1. The Thai government should halt the repatriation until the Burmese 
>government would officially accept the returnees back without 
>investigations and punishment. The Thai government should provide border 
>shelters for the people who are waiting for repatriation. 

>2. The Thai police should stop arresting the migrant workers until the 
>situation changes, since the immigration police department is not able to 
>provide enough shelters for more people. 

>3. The Thai government should allow the United Nations High Commissioners 
>for Refugees to officially monitor the repatriation of migrant workers so 
>that the international organization will be able to provide protection for 
>the refugees who might be arrested, especially the ethnic Shan and Karen, 
>who are from the states that the internal war is still going on. 

>4. The Thai government must order the local authorities to stop the 
>strategic plan of arresting children and wives of the migrant workers to 
>pressure the male migrant workers. The act violates the rights of the 
>child, according to article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
>that Thailand is signatory to. 
> 
>The non-governmental organizations demand the Thai government to follow the 
>principle of non-refoulement of the refugees. In addition, though the 
>migrant workers from Burma have not yet been considered as refugees, if the 
>repatriation would push the people to life-threatening danger, the Thai 
>government should reconsider its policy based on the humanitarian basis and 
>the principle of the universal human rights. 
> 
> Yours sincerely, 
> 
> Foundation for Children's Development 
> Foundation for Women 
> Friends of Women Foundation 
> Global Alliance Against the Traffic of Women 
> Migrant Assistance Program 
> Empower Foundation (Chiang Mai) 
> Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma 
> Child's Rights-Asia Net 
> Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) 
> Friends without Borders:Project to Promote Positive Relations between 
>Thai and Burmese People 
> 
> 
>

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