Ministry says repatriation plan not

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Politics 

      Ministry says repatriation
      plan not discriminatory

      OFFICIALS of the Labour and Social
      Security Ministry Monday defended
      Thailand's repatriation of illegal foreign
      workers insisting it had not violated any
      human rights, while announcing that almost
      19,000 Burmese have now been expelled. 

      In response to the Burmese authorities'
      position, made clear via the state-run New
      Light of Myanmar newspaper, that Bangkok
      had used double standards, the Alien
      Department's Director Pramuan
      Jitasombat said that repatriation was
      based on a legal framework since the
      workers expelled had entered the kingdom
      illegally. 

      ''The Thai government had previously
      allowed them a grace period in which to
      register themselves with the Labour
      Ministry's agencies but many were not
      interested. Therefore, non-registered alien
      workers will be the first group to be affected
      by the repatriation plan,'' the director said. 

      He added that the plan did not discriminate
      against Burmese workers, but targets all
      nationals who have illegally entered
      Thailand. 

      Thailand's attempt to alleviate the
      unemployment problem by utilising the
      illegal workers' repatriation plan has
      angered the Burmese authorities who have
      been quoted in newspapers as saying that
      the scheme was rather pitiful as the
      Burmese, once more than welcome in
      Thailand, were now being sent back home. 

      However, Pramuan said, the committee
      which oversees the repatriation will meet
      again on Feb 25 in order to seek clear
      measures in dealing with illegal workers.
      Besides, the D-day for repatriation has not
      yet been set because the ministry does not
      have enough budget in order to build
      detention centres in four provinces:
      Ranong, Kanchanaburi, Tak and Chiang
      Rai, he said. 

      Meanwhile, Labour and Social Security
      Ministry Permanent Secretary Phan
      Chantrapan Monday reported to the
      Cabinet that 19,000 illegal foreign workers
      had been expelled in the first stage of the
      country's drive to free up a million posts for
      jobless Thai. 

      The 19,000, mostly from Burma, were
      repatriated in the first weeks of a push to
      expel 300,000 illegals by the middle of the
      year, the permanent secretary said. 

      Some 6,000 of the 19,000 posts have
      already been taken up by Thai as the
      country battles its worst-ever economic
      slump, Phan said. 

      The fishery and agriculture sectors, the
      biggest employers of illegal workers, will be
      excluded from the repatriation drive
      because the departure of Burmese citizens
      would gut these industries, Phan said. 

      The Nation/Agence France-Presse