Menneskeretsgrupper er bekymrede over thailandske myndigheders tilbageholdelse af 158 Rohingya bådflygtninge fra Burma skriver IRIN news. De frygter, at thaierne vil deportere gruppen, som var nødt til at søge tilflugt i det sydlige Thailand på deres vej til Malaysia.
BANGKOK, 25 January 2011 (IRIN): The men, of varying ages, reportedly came ashore over the weekend, after fleeing their native Burma and experiencing engine trouble on their way to Malaysia.
– I am very concerned about their possible deportation and the manner in which that could take place, Chris Lewa, the coordinator of the Arakan Project, an advocacy organization for the Rohingya, told IRIN from Geneva on 25 January.
– It is very difficult to track them should that happen, David Mathieson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, adding that he hoped the Thai authorities would permit UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) access to conduct a proper refugee status determination.
Police Col. Chayawut Chansomboon, Satun immigration superintendent, reportedly said both groups would probably be repatriated.
Two years earlier, Thailand was criticized for its handling of another group of Rohingya boat people who washed up on its shores, amid allegations that hundreds were towed out to sea and left to die without adequate humanitarian supplies.
The Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority unrecognized as citizens by the Burmese government, have been fleeing their native Burma since 1978.
According to UNHCR, there are some 200.000 Rohingya in Bangladesh, of whom only 28.000 are documented refugees and in two government camps assisted by the agency.
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