Thai NGOs' Open Letter to the Thai (r)

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

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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