Sleeping mats and abandoned belongings were all Hat Yai police found
when they raided a camp yesterday that was suspected of illegally harbouring
200 Rohingya migrants.
Nearby residents later found 29
Rohingya wandering lost in the woods and alerted the authorities. Police
believe they were among the 200 migrants from the empty camp and had escaped
from their middlemen handlers during the camp's hurried evacuation. The
Rohingya told rescuers about 100 other Rohingya had escaped.
It was the fourth Rohingya camp
raid this month in Songkhla. The migrants had reportedly been staying at the
camp in Tambon Chalung for almost a month awaiting departure to Malaysia.
Foreign Minister Surapong
Towichukchaikul yesterday led envoys from 17 Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) countries to visit 105 Rohingya women and children at a
shelter in Songkhla's Muang district. He said the diplomats were satisfied with
Thailand's handling of the Rohingya and some envoys promised to give their
cooperation.
Songkhla Governor Kritsada
Boonrach told the envoys that the Rohingya people's health had improved thanks
to care from related agencies. The envoys said they would determine whether the
migrants should be sent back to their country of origin or onward to a third
country. The envoys also visited a Rohingya shelter in Pattani.
National Security Council (NSC)
secretary-general Lt-General Paradorn Pattanathabutr yesterday insisted that
Thailand would not set up a refugee camp for the Rohingyas, who are fleeing sectarian
violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Around 1,400 Rohingyas are being detained
in various locations around the South for illegally entering Thailand.
According to Thai immigration
rules, the illegal migrants can't be detained for longer than six months. They
will be assisted in humanitarian terms and allowed to remain temporarily,
Paradorn said.
"We will neither upgrade the
problem to the international level nor open refugee camps to accommodate
them," Paradorn said. "As for the Rohingyas found aboard boats in the
sea, we will provide them with water and food but we will not allow them to
enter Thai territory. The Thai authorities have already talked to and asked for
cooperation from Malaysia. We would like the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to
help us talk to Malaysia."
Santiparp Ramasttra and Pimnara
Pradubwit
The Nation
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