Thailand Abuses Burmese Refugees: CNN Investigation

After a week of various accusations and denials, CNN reports that it has uncovered evidence showing that Thai authorities have abused Rohingya refugees who fled Burma (Myanmar) looking for safety in neighboring Thailand.

Extraordinary photos obtained by CNN from someone directly involved in the Thai operation show refugees on their rickety boats being towed out to sea, cut loose and abandoned.

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CNN's investigation -- based on accounts from tourists, sources in Thailand and a Rohingya refugee who said he was on a boat towed back out to sea -- helps to piece together a picture of survival thwarted by an organized effort not just to repel arriving refugees, but to hold them prisoner on shore, drag them in flimsy boats far out to sea and then abandon them.

The Irawaddy based in northern Thailand reports that the United Nations has requested access to the Rohingya refugees in Thailand, but it has not yet received a response from the Thai government.

The UNHCR's regional spokeswoman, Kitty McKinsey, told The Irrawaddy: "We are very concerned about them [the refugees]. That's why we want to have access to them to find out what the situation is. And we want to see if any of them are in need of international protection."

It is estimated that up to 20,000 illegal Rohingya migrants have entered Thailand over the years and remain within the kingdom. Hundreds of refugees travelling in open boats were reported recently to have been turned back by the Thai navy, but Thai authorities denied allegations that they were being set adrift without food or water.

Continue reading the CNN story here or watch this video:

Comments

[cmp]

I was this() close to booking a trip to Thailand this year. It was all but in the bag. Then my husband saw the news and said "no way." I've been to dictatorship countries before, but this is just too much for me now. When will the pain stop for these and others in the world?

[MaryMargaret]

Thailand thrives on tourism and maybe that kind of economic pressure is the best chance these refugees have at humane treatment. It also seems to me that the US Navy could patrol these waters in their regular exercises. Good luck on finding a politically responsible vacation destination.

[Pema]

We ahve ignored the problems in se asia because we focus on mid asia, and now we have a mess. lets boycott thailand. i wasnt planning on going for several years. but i wil call the thai ambassador and make my feelings known.
Stand up!
Rise up!

[Nikola Tesla]

That's what happens when you ignore a brutal dictatorship for DECADES!

Thailand has problems of their own and constantly teeter back and forth between dictatorship and democracy.

China and India need to step up and pressure Myanmar to open up and join the rest of the world. Or crush the Junta, which either country could easily do, especially if the UN helped build a coalition.

[Warthog]

America with it's head in the sand along with the rest of the first world (for the most part). This is old news. Within 100 miles of where I live in Thailand there are tens of thousands of Burmese refugees denied citizenship and used as illegal immigrant laborers by the Thai elite, as clandestine loggers by the Thai military, and political tools. Free Aung San Suu Kyi. Demand that Burma establish real human rights. But this means no longer kissing the arse of Burma's greatest supporter, China. Is America willing to do that? Or are they too addicted to cheap Chinese goods?

[luvobama]

I cannot stand any of it!!!

[curiousforeigner]

This is really sad. It all boils down to money really. The Thai gov't doesn't want more mouths to feed so to speak. Meanwhile they have big trade agreements with the military junta.

[Manase]

Just as some living in the democratic USA, who failed to look beyond the creed or to develope compassion towards people of different religious faiths--the creed and faith of these regugees dffer from the mainstream of both countries in question--the very reason why they are tossed between by these countries. These regugees may have originated from another country not mentioned in the article. Regardless, it is certainly easier to develop a sense of duty and compassion in the Land of the Free.

[arcanepsyche]

And to think, 99% of us will forget about this story by the time we wake up tomorrow.

[kassandrasduplex]

CNN is helping us forget about the abuse done to people in Gaa zaa at this very moment.

[Ronju01]

Thai Gov. wants one kind of visitors.

[marcosmom]

The Thai government has a history of ill-treatment of refugees from Burma. I've travelled to Thailand many times and despite my love of many things Thai, the country is not a democracy and the Thai government shows little compassion for refugees. Thailand is dependent on the Burmese government for oil and timber.

[MomfromTexas]

Interesting.

[mrskorn]

Where is the outcry? shouldn't the government be tried for war crimes?

[amdezurik]

agreed, but give it some time to get out. And yes just Like the Boosh misadminstration the Thailand goverment needs to be tried for their crimes.

[Nikola Tesla]

HELLO? MYANMAR?!?!?

[Hank007]

It's sad, but Thailand and Burma are not at war, so no war crimes laws apply. Humanitarian ones, perhaps.

[munki]

Why can't we all be a happy ONE FAMILY?