No matter how often Asean members turn a blind eye, the sticky issue of Burmese refugees fleeing their homeland will continue to come up over and over again unless Burma’s internal problems are addressed head on
ust months ago there were allegations that Thai security forces pushed a number of Rohingya boat people back onto the open ocean. Some were rescued by neighbouring countries, while the fate of others is unknown, as they have yet to be accounted for and probably never will be.
The incident put Thailand in an unwanted spotlight in the eye of the international community, following criticism that a more humane approach should have been taken. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva finally came clean over the allegations but the damage had already been done.
Just days ago, another damning allegation surfaced. This time it is not video footage but a report from the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on human trafficking of people from Burma and implicating Malaysian and Thai officials. The report was based on a yearlong review by committee staff who spoke to migrants from military-ruled Burma and human rights activists.
At first, like Thailand, Malaysian Home Minister Hamid Albar dismissed the report as wild accusation. But it didn’t take long for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to comment on the issue.
While Malaysian officials were accused of orchestrating this alleged human trafficking ring, Thai officials are also implicated for their role in facilitating the illicit arrangement.
Credit should go to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak for vowing to investigate the report by US lawmakers, who urged the two countries to do more in terms of addressing the problem.
The report claimed that thousands of Burmese refugees have been handed over to human traffickers, with some ending up in Thai brothels, fishing boats and restaurants if they have no money to buy their freedom from officials.
According to the Senate committee report, “a few thousand” Burmese migrants in recent years might have become victims of extortion and trafficking once they are deported across Malaysia’s northern border with Thailand.
“Upon arrival at the Malaysia-Thailand border, human traffickers reportedly take possession of the migrants,” the report said. The New York-based Human Rights Watch called on Malaysia’s government to “act on this report to protect the rights of refugees and victims of human trafficking”.
The UN refugee agency has registered 47,600 refugees living in Malaysia as of the end of March, of whom 42,300 were from Burma.
Malaysian opposition politician Lim Kit Siang also urged the government to “respond with instant action” to the US report, saying it is “not only most damaging to Malaysia’s international image but raises grave questions about Malaysia’s human rights commitment”.
by Nation BKK
