ARNO condemns Thailand’s deadly action against distress Rohingya boat people

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) strongly denounces Thailand’s continual deadly treatment of the Rohingya boat people who were either caught in Thai territorial waters or reached its shore with boat engines troubles.

According to BBC news relayed on 10th February, followed by other creditable information and statements of Indian authorities, 91 starving Rohingya boat people were found by police in India’s Andaman and Nicobar islands, who were “pushed out” into peril on the open sea by the Thai military with little ration and water in a engineless boat. This action of Thai military reveals that they wanted these distress boat people to be drowned as did in January 2009. Nonetheless, we appreciate the Indian government with its police and concerned authorities for providing them with medical treatment and other humanitarian needs.

The exact number and situation of Rohingya boat people in different Thai detention centres are still mysterious. The Thai government should be much more transparent on this worrying issue and adequate protection should be provided to the children under 18.  

Despite international outcries over Thailand’s fatal treatment of the Rohingya boatpeople in 2009, good sense does not prevail yet in the minds of the Thai authorities towards distress and  oppressed Rohingyas. Thailand should abide by law of the seas and international humanitarian laws. As a UN body mandated by the international community, Thailand must grant the UNHCR unrestricted access to all Rohingya boat peoples in Thai detention centres to determine their status.

The Rohingyas with their boat people are defacto stateless people who have been invariably subjected to religious, ethnic and political persecution by the Burmese regime causing their constant outflows, from their homeland, across the borders to Bangladesh and other countries which need immediate regional solution, in particular, where the role of ASEAN is crucial.

We call upon the international community with UN, OIC, EU, ASEAN, USA, UK, neighbouring countries and concerned governments:

1.    To put pressure on the  Thai government to desist “push back” or “push out” of the distress  Rohingya boat people; to allow UNHCR staff unrestricted access to those in Thai detention camps to determine their status; and to pay compensation to the victims for the losses sustained.
2.    To put pressure on the Burmese regime to stop forthwith persecution of ethnic Rohingyas and to grant them citizenship and ethnic rights in their own homeland.
3.    To find out an immediate permanent solution to the long-standing Rohingya problem.

Formore information, please contact:

Nurul Islam:    +44-7947854652
AFK Jilani:    +880-1674811079
Email:        info@rohingya.org
Website:    www.rohingya.org