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| Thousands of Rohingya refugees -- such these pictured in March this year -- have flooded into Thailand. |
Peter Shadbolt
If it were not for the powerful stench and desperate shouts emanating
from the wire cages, the men sitting in rows, each wearing a white skull
cap, look like they could be at a prayer meeting.
But for the 276 Rohingya men sitting on the floor of two cells designed
to hold just 15 people each, their situation is about as far away from a
mosque as it gets -- that was the scene, vividly described and shown in
an a report by British news network and CNN affiliate, Channel 4.
Appearing to have barely enough room to sit, some of the men reportedly
had swollen feet and withered leg muscles from a lack of exercise and
had not moved from the cage in five months.
According to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW),
the men are among 1,700 ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar -- formerly known
as Burma -- who are being held in appalling conditions in Thai
immigration detention centers in Thailand's Phang Nga province and
filmed secretly by the news team from Channel 4.
Tens of thousands of ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar's Arakan State have
already fled persecution amid ongoing sectarian violence between the
majority Buddhist Arakanese and the Muslim Rohingya.
Many flee in small, unseaworthy boats arriving in Malaysia, Indonesia
and Thailand. Some never make it to their destinations. Last month, a boat carrying about 100 Rohingya capsized off western Myanmar and at least 50 were feared drowned.
HRW says the overcrowded conditions are part of an unsanctioned policy of deterring Rohingya from seeking asylum in Thailand.
"I think that the Thai policy is all about saying to the Rohingya, 'Hey,
if you land in Thailand you're not going to have an easy time of it',"
Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of HRW, told CNN.
"By putting people in detention centers in these appalling conditions
the Thai government is effectively saying come here at your own peril."
HRW says Thai immigration officials have not permitted UNHCR, the United
Nations' refugee agency, to conduct refugee status determination
screenings and have split up the Rohingya families with women and
children sent to government-run shelters.
According to the Channel 4 report, while the women and children are held
in better conditions than the men, they often have no information about
the status or even whereabouts of their partners.
"The government should immediately allow them to pursue their asylum
claims with the UN refugee agency," said HRW Asia director Brad Adams,
adding that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone
has the right to seek asylum from persecution.
HRW also claimed that under Thailand's "help on" policy -- whereby Thai
Navy vessels that intercept Rohingya boats supply them with fuel and
provisions on condition the boats sail onward to Malaysia and Indonesia
-- Rohingya were being put at further risk.
"Thai authorities should provide temporary protection to Rohingya and
scrap the 'help on' policy that places these asylum seekers in harm's
way," Adams said. "The government should help Rohingya who escape from
oppression and hardship in Burma -- not worsen their plight."
But Manasvi Srisodapol, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, told CNN that Thai authorities were fully aware of and
concerned about overcrowding at its existing immigration facilities.
"Since January, various groups of Rohingyas have been placed under the
care of various immigration and detention centers and government
shelters across Thailand, that notwithstanding, alternative arrangements
are being identified as a matter of priority to address the issue of
overcrowding, as well as in reuniting those Rohingyas with their family
members."
He denied the government was not cooperating with international bodies
over the issue, saying the government was working in close partnership
with humanitarian agencies such as the UNHCR, UNICEF and the ICRC to
provide temporary assistance to the refugees. He added that their asylum
rights would be fully respected.
"Thailand has not been denying anyone, their basic human rights, he
said. "In fact Thailand is providing temporary assistance and shelters
in spite the fact that these Rohingyas are illegal migrants.
Furthermore, international organizations such as UNHCR, ICRC, IOM and
UNICEF have access to these people on the regular basis."
Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed in January to
permit Rohingya arriving by boat in Thailand to stay temporarily,
initially for six months, until they could be safely repatriated or
resettled in a third country.
"The Thai government is in close cooperation with various countries and
international organizations to find a durable solution for the
Rohingyas," said Srisodapol.
"The six-month period announced in January is a tentative time frame and we are examining various possibilities."
Critics fear that if the Thai government is unable to find a third
country that would accept the asylum seekers, then Thailand may deport
the Rohingya back to Myanmar where they would undoubtedly face
persecution.
CNN's Kocha Olarn in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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