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Thai NGOs' Open Letter to the Thai (r)
- Subject: Thai NGOs' Open Letter to the Thai (r)
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 13:06:00
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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