[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index ][Thread Index ]

Junta vows to shoot returnees



--------------8E0416AC0E622C29C8BCF767
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit



S.Wansai wrote:

>
>
        THE NATION November 4,1999

        Headlines

        Junta vows to shoot returnees

        MAE SOT, Tak -- Burmese troops yesterday
        threatened to shoot a group of Burmese workers
        repatriated by Thai authorities, forcing officials
        to turn back the vessels and look for other routes
        to transport almost 300 illegal immigrants back to
        their homeland, Thai officials said.

        According to Border Pol Col Preecha Suwansorn,
        chief of immigration police in Mae Sot district in
        Tak province, Burmese soldiers had threatened to
        shoot anyone who stepped off the craft and on to
        the river bank, near the Burmese border town of
        Myawaddy, which lies opposite Mae Sot district.

        Thai authorities then moved the Burmese to another
        point on the Moei River border that was not being
        manned by Rangoon's troops and sent them into
        Burma.

        Authorities in Ranong, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son
        provinces were reportedly facing the same
        difficulties with Burmese troops threatening
        bloodshed.

        According to Preecha, the Burmese soldiers said
        their decision was based on the belief that some
        of the returnees could be members of dissident
        groups looking to return to the country.

        Thai authorities have been sending home thousands
        of workers secretly at unguarded crossings in
        recent weeks. But in the initial massive
        repatriation undertaken openly yesterday, the
        three big passenger boats loaded with illegal
        immigrants had to come back across the river to
        Thailand.

        ''Burma knows well that Thailand has started
        expelling illegal workers from this month. No
        matter what, we will send them all back home,''
        said Preecha.

        According to an aid worker, the atmosphere in Mae
        Sot was chaotic with an unprecedented number of
        police pouring into the district, setting up road
        blocks and rounding up suspected illegal
        immigrants.

        At least 100 immigration police have been sent to
        the province from Bangkok to beef up the local
        force, preparing to search more than 600 factories
        in Tak, said Pol Maj Chatree Hipthong, deputy
        chief of immigration police in Mae Sot, 370
        kilometres northwest of Bangkok.

        Yesterday's dispute came at the start of a planned
        mass repatriation of illegal workers from
        neighbouring countries. The expulsion of Burmese
        workers was part of a larger plan by the Thai
        government to cap the number of foreign labourers
        from neighbouring countries, including Laos and
        Cambodia.

        But the authorities' efforts were complicated by
        the border closure. Burma last month ordered the
        entire border shut in retaliation for Thailand
        allowing student militants who stormed the Burmese
        Embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1 to go free. Since
        then, relations between the two countries have
        been at their lowest point in years.

        Thai officials said the Burmese army had increased
        its presence and beefed up surveillance by using
        helicopters along the porous border between the
        two countries, since they knew in advance about
        the planned repatriation by the Thai
        authorities.

        ''Illegal workers will be rounded up from tomorrow
        and if the authorities of some neighbouring
        countries are not in favour of the repatriation,
        these people will be confined to a certain
        location until the repatriation is possible,''
        police chief Gen Pracha Promnok said.

        In Burma, a government spokesman, on customary
        condition of anonymity, said that immigration
        issues ''should be discussed at the regular border
        meetings where government officials from both
        sides meet''.

        About a million foreigners, most of whom come from
        Burma, are working illegally in Thailand in
        back-breaking jobs and receiving wages much below
        their Thai counterparts.

        The Cabinet had earlier rejected an appeal from
        local employers along the Thai-Burmese border,
        asking for leniency and the postponement of the
        deadline, but official sources said the private
        sector is preparing to ask for a further 90 days'
        extension. The enforced deadline for illegal
        labourers expired yesterday.

        Thailand had two years ago granted permission to
        employers in 37 provinces to hire migrants to work
        in 18 business sectors, including rubber
        plantations, rice mills, factories, fisheries and
        construction.

        But in a bid to ease unemployment among Thais amid
        the country's economic crisis, Bangkok has now set
        a limit of 87,000, effective from yesterday, on
        the number of foreign workers from Burma, Laos and
        Cambodia.

        There are estimated to be about 100,000 Burmese
        labourers, both legal and illegal, eking out their
        livelihoods in Mae Sot alone.

        Suchart Wisuwan, president of the Tak Industrial
        Council, said local entrepreneurs were ready to
        enforce the government policy by turning in
        approximately 83,200 Burmese workers to
        immigration officials.

        Suchart strongly denied rumours that local
        entrepreneurs had given politicians and officers
        Bt200 million in bribes to ease the regulation.

        ''The authorities concerned will begin to round up
        illegal workers and send them back as soon as
        possible,'' Labour Minister Wut Sukosol said
        yesterday.

        Thailand, in the throes of its worst economic
        crisis, last year repatriated about 300,000
        Burmese illegal workers.

        The Thai action against Burmese workers is bound
        to have repercussions on its cottage, agricultural
        and fisheries industries, especially along the
        border where employers are dependent on cheap
        labour.

        The Nation, Agencies
>

  Quasi-democracy Thailand is becoming very ruthless in order to save
its economy from collasp.Will it work?  May be? They ,even the Thai
policy makers, I doubt,are sure about it.
Sending those ' once were needed ' cheap labourers from Burma is not
going to help that much to already  substatially melted down economy of
Thailand.But this attempt of forced repatriation is a another way of
Thais's mentality espcially the politicians,way of crawling under the
military of Myanmar to please aftermath of BKK embassy seiege.Really
sucks!
Where is the FTUB in this incidents.These people are the work force of
Burma and must have their own rights.This is what the FTUB stands for
and protect as Federatin of Trade Unions of Burma.These workers are
unfortunate ones have no jobs in Burma and had to come to Thailand to
work. You got that! bloody opportunists?
Heard nothing so far.Only busy with its members to protest in front of
Myanmar embassy in Bankok to release its two trade unionists jailed many
months ago in Burma.Later these protesters will be automatically
resettled in third country.That's their plan.The whole set up is corrupt
in this FTUB saga.Wheelings and dealings like a gem stone broker what
Maung Maung was before.
The whole things is fucking corrupt that I am very concern the future of
Burma.

If they want to dispute about this accusations.I am here at any time.


Sincerely

Panyoma/syd

--------------8E0416AC0E622C29C8BCF767
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<HTML>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
&nbsp;

<P>S.Wansai wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>&nbsp;<STYLE></STYLE>

<TABLE BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH="450" >
<CAPTION><TBODY>
<BR></TBODY></CAPTION>

<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH="30"></TD>

<TD></TD>

<TD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="300"><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><B><FONT SIZE=-1>THE
NATION November 4,1999</FONT></B><FONT SIZE=+1>&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><B><FONT SIZE=+1>Headlines</FONT></B>&nbsp;</FONT>&nbsp;
<H2>
<FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><FONT SIZE=+2>Junta vows
to shoot returnees</FONT></FONT></FONT></H2>
<FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>MAE SOT, Tak -- Burmese troops yesterday
threatened to shoot a group of Burmese workers repatriated by Thai authorities,
forcing officials to turn back the vessels and look for other routes to
transport almost 300 illegal immigrants back to their homeland, Thai officials
said.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>According to Border Pol Col Preecha
Suwansorn, chief of immigration police in Mae Sot district in Tak province,
Burmese soldiers had threatened to shoot anyone who stepped off the craft
and on to the river bank, near the Burmese border town of Myawaddy, which
lies opposite Mae Sot district.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Thai authorities then moved the
Burmese to another point on the Moei River border that was not being manned
by Rangoon's troops and sent them into Burma.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Authorities in Ranong, Chiang
Rai and Mae Hong Son provinces were reportedly facing the same difficulties
with Burmese troops threatening bloodshed.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>According to Preecha, the Burmese
soldiers said their decision was based on the belief that some of the returnees
could be members of dissident groups looking to return to the country.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Thai authorities have been sending
home thousands of workers secretly at unguarded crossings in recent weeks.
But in the initial massive repatriation undertaken openly yesterday, the
three big passenger boats loaded with illegal immigrants had to come back
across the river to Thailand.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>''Burma knows well that Thailand
has started expelling illegal workers from this month. No matter what,
we will send them all back home,'' said Preecha.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>According to an aid worker, the
atmosphere in Mae Sot was chaotic with an unprecedented number of police
pouring into the district, setting up road blocks and rounding up suspected
illegal immigrants.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>At least 100 immigration police
have been sent to the province from Bangkok to beef up the local force,
preparing to search more than 600 factories in Tak, said Pol Maj Chatree
Hipthong, deputy chief of immigration police in Mae Sot, 370 kilometres
northwest of Bangkok.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Yesterday's dispute came at the
start of a planned mass repatriation of illegal workers from neighbouring
countries. The expulsion of Burmese workers was part of a larger plan by
the Thai government to cap the number of foreign labourers from neighbouring
countries, including Laos and Cambodia.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>But the authorities' efforts
were complicated by the border closure. Burma last month ordered the entire
border shut in retaliation for Thailand allowing student militants who
stormed the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok on Oct 1 to go free. Since then,
relations between the two countries have been at their lowest point in
years.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Thai officials said the Burmese
army had increased its presence and beefed up surveillance by using helicopters
along the porous border between the two countries, since they knew in advance
about the planned repatriation by the Thai authorities.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>''Illegal workers will be rounded
up from tomorrow and if the authorities of some neighbouring countries
are not in favour of the repatriation, these people will be confined to
a certain location until the repatriation is possible,'' police chief Gen
Pracha Promnok said.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>In Burma, a government spokesman,
on customary condition of anonymity, said that immigration issues ''should
be discussed at the regular border meetings where government officials
from both sides meet''.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>About a million foreigners, most
of whom come from Burma, are working illegally in Thailand in back-breaking
jobs and receiving wages much below their Thai counterparts.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>The Cabinet had earlier rejected
an appeal from local employers along the Thai-Burmese border, asking for
leniency and the postponement of the deadline, but official sources said
the private sector is preparing to ask for a further 90 days' extension.
The enforced deadline for illegal labourers expired yesterday.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Thailand had two years ago granted
permission to employers in 37 provinces to hire migrants to work in 18
business sectors, including rubber plantations, rice mills, factories,
fisheries and construction.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>But in a bid to ease unemployment
among Thais amid the country's economic crisis, Bangkok has now set a limit
of 87,000, effective from yesterday, on the number of foreign workers from
Burma, Laos and Cambodia.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>There are estimated to be about
100,000 Burmese labourers, both legal and illegal, eking out their livelihoods
in Mae Sot alone.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Suchart Wisuwan, president of
the Tak Industrial Council, said local entrepreneurs were ready to enforce
the government policy by turning in approximately 83,200 Burmese workers
to immigration officials.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Suchart strongly denied rumours
that local entrepreneurs had given politicians and officers Bt200 million
in bribes to ease the regulation.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>''The authorities concerned will
begin to round up illegal workers and send them back as soon as possible,''
Labour Minister Wut Sukosol said yesterday.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>Thailand, in the throes of its
worst economic crisis, last year repatriated about 300,000 Burmese illegal
workers.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>The Thai action against Burmese
workers is bound to have repercussions on its cottage, agricultural and
fisheries industries, especially along the border where employers are dependent
on cheap labour.&nbsp;</FONT></FONT>&nbsp;

<P><FONT FACE="arial,Times"><FONT SIZE=+0>The Nation, Agencies</FONT></FONT></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
&nbsp;</BLOCKQUOTE>
&nbsp; Quasi-democracy Thailand is becoming very ruthless in order to save
its economy from collasp.Will it work?&nbsp; May be? They ,even the Thai
policy makers, I doubt,are sure about it.
<BR>Sending those ' once were needed ' cheap labourers from Burma is not
going to help that much to already&nbsp; substatially melted down economy
of Thailand.But this attempt of forced repatriation is a another way of
Thais's mentality espcially the politicians,way of crawling under the military
of Myanmar to please aftermath of BKK embassy seiege.Really sucks!
<BR>Where is the FTUB in this incidents.These people are the work force
of Burma and must have their own rights.This is what the FTUB stands for
and protect as Federatin of Trade Unions of Burma.These workers are unfortunate
ones have no jobs in Burma and had to come to Thailand to work.<FONT SIZE=+1>
You got that! bloody opportunists?</FONT>
<BR>Heard nothing so far.Only busy with its members to protest in front
of Myanmar embassy in Bankok to release its two trade unionists jailed
many months ago in Burma.Later these protesters will be automatically resettled
in third country.That's their plan.The whole set up is corrupt in this
FTUB saga.Wheelings and dealings like a gem stone broker what Maung Maung
was before.
<BR>The whole things is fucking corrupt that I am very concern the future
of Burma.

<P>If they want to dispute about this accusations.I am here at any time.
<BR>&nbsp;

<P>Sincerely
<BR>&nbsp;
<BR>Panyoma/syd
</BODY>
</HTML>

--------------8E0416AC0E622C29C8BCF767--