New Refugee Arrests Undermine Recent Progress

	Burma

New Refugee Arrests Undermine Recent Progress

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 By SIMON ROUGHNEEN

In this photo taken on Feb. 16, 2011, Rohingya boat people wait for medical treatment after being rescued, at a port in Aceh Besar, Aceh province, Indonesia. (Photo: AP)

BANGKOK — on June 7, the day after 96 Pakistani Ahmadiyah refugees and asylum seekers were freed on bail in what was hailed as a landmark new departure in Thailand’s dealings with refugees, six other Pakistani asylum seekers and one refugee were arrested in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok.

The seven were sent to Bangkok’s Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre (IDC), site of the high-profile June 6 release, says the UN refugee agency (UNCHR). “We are deeply concerned about these arrests that just increase the sense of insecurity that refugees and asylum seekers already feel”, said Jean-Noël Wetterwald, UNHCR regional representative and coordinator for Southeast Asia.

The June 7 arrests were followed up on June 9 with the arrest of nine more Ahmadiyah asylum-seekers in Ayutthuya, with still more Ahmadiyah detained on June 15. The new arrests include children under five years old, as well as a number of Sri Lankan nationals. The Ahmadiyah are members of a minority Islamic group that is oppressed in Pakistan, where they are not recognized as Muslims and are often victims of sectarian violence.

Speaking on Monday evening at Bangkok’s Foreign Correspondent’s Club, Thailand National Human Rights Commissioner Niran Pitakwatchara described possible human rights violations at the IDC, such as detention conditions he depicted as crowded and unhealthy. One year ago today, Thailand assumed the Presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Thailand has long been a destination for refugees fleeing oppression in south and southeastern Asia, and currently around 140,000 Burmese refugees are in Thailand, mostly in nine camps along the Thai-Burma border. Monday, June 20, was World Refugee Day, with Burma cited as the world’s fifth-highest source of refugees with 415,700 worldwide, around 200,000 of which are Rohingya.

The Rohingya are a Muslim people numbering around one million, mostly living in northern Arakan State in western Burma. They are denied Burmese citizenship and have long been persecuted. According to Refugees International, state and army land seizures, forced labor, arbitrary arrests and extortion of Rohngya are common.

More than 40 Rohngya are detained in Suan Plu IDC, which sits close to the main banking and finance district in Bangkok. Others are held elsewhere in Thailand, some of whom have languished inside detention centers for more than two years, although negotiations are taking place between refugee rights groups and the Thai authorities for the release of the Rohingya detainees.

In early 2009, allegations that the Thai army abandoned nearly 1,000 Rohingya at sea caused international anger, prompting then newly-installed Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva to say he would investigate the claims. A diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy in Bangkok, which was released early on Tuesday, outlined that prior to March 2009, the US sought to influence Thailand’s ‘pushback’ of Rohingya trying to enter Thailand by sea.

The American representatives, including then-Ambassador to Thailand Eric John, said they raised the issue with Thai officials and lawmakers, including PM Abhisit, resulting in what the Americans perceived to be a temporary respite in Thailand’s maritime pushbacks. The cable acknowledged the role played by media coverage, including that of The Irrawaddy, in pressuring the Thai authorities to relax the pushbacks.

After the advocacy push and media coverage, the next group of Rohingya arrivals to Thailand’s shores were well-treated, according to the US account. However, the Thai authorities cited their concerns that the granting of full refugee status to a party of 78 Rohingya being held at Ranong would prompt more refugees to come to Thailand in the hope of acquiring the same status and possible eventual third-country resettlement to a Western nation.

The cable mentioned US efforts to address the ‘root causes’ of the Rohingya problem, namely the human rights situation in Burma and Arakan State specifically. The US said it wanted Burma’s fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pressure Burma into improving conditions in Rohingya-populated regions of Burma, measures that some analysts believe would reduce the numbers of Rohingya seeking refuge abroad.

On June 9, US Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration Eric P Schwartz reiterated the American position that “the solution to the Rohingya issue lies in Burma.” However, it is not clear that the US can convince Burma’s neighbors that Burmese Government policy toward Rohingya is the cause of their flight to Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.

In early June, Bangladeshi Food Minister Abdur Razaque accused Western countries of being the root cause of the Rohingya refugee crisis, due to their pressure on his country to register more of the estimated 200,000 Rohingya. Only 28,000 are officially-recognized as refugees by Dhaka, with the rest living in dire conditions in squalid camps.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.
URL: www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21536

Refugees are ‘still suffering’

News > Local News

Refugees are ‘still suffering’

Published: 21/06/2011 at 12:00 AM

Although Thailand has not ratified the Convention on the Status of Refugees, the Thai government still needs to provide basic rights such as access to bail and better shelter for refugees, according to a panel discussion yesterday on World Refugee Day.

Although 96 Pakistani refugees received bail on June 6 with assistance from the Refugee Freedom Fund, 200 of them remain at the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Bangkok’s Suan Phlu area.

Speaking at the forum, National Human Rights Commissioner Niran Pitakwatchara said his commission had found likely human right violations at the IDC including arrest patterns and detention conditions, which he characterised as crowded and unhealthy, especially for children and women.

Thailand should avoid exposing refugees and displaced people to environments in which their basic human rights can easily be violated, Mr Niran said.

He called on Thai authorities to build a new refugee-friendly shelter outside the IDC. Dr Niran also called for interim measures that the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) could employ to screen these refugees.

The UNHCR said it was concerned about the arrests of Ahmadiyya and Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya and Bangkok.

“We have long believed that refugees should not be locked up simply for being refugees,” said Jean-Noel Wetterwald, the Bangkok-based UNHCR’s Regional Representative and Coordinator for Southeast Asia.

Thailand, like many Asian countries, does not have a national asylum system.

All foreigners who enter or live in Thailand without proper documentation are subject to arrest, prosecution, detention and deportation under immigration laws, even if they are registered with UNHCR as asylum-seekers or refugees.

Veerawit Tianchainan, director of the Thai Committee for Refugees, said the recently formed Refugee Freedom Fund, established a good foundation for assisting the remaining 200 Pakistani detainees and asylum seekers when it recently posted bail for 96 Ahmadiyya.

URL: www.bangkokpost.com/news/...still-suffering

Immigration law is always top priority

News > Crime

Immigration law is always top priority

In-transit asylum seekers must still face Thai justice

Published: 13/06/2011 at 12:00 AM

Police will continue to arrest illegal immigrants who enter the country under the guise of refugees and claim human rights protection.

The migrants, mainly from North Korea and Pakistan, are using Bangkok as a transit point to resettle in a third country.

The city is a good channel for them as it houses the Asia-Pacific office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) where they can ask for refugee status, according to immigration police.

They are also given help by human rights advocates and even foreign diplomats.

“If we don’t arrest them, more illegal migrants will come to Thailand. This will lead to more crimes and human trafficking,” said Phongnakhon Nakhonsantiphap, deputy chief of investigation at the Immigration Bureau.

North Koreans who illegally enter northern Thailand from Laos are reportedly helped by human trafficking gangs to initially travel to China, from where they travel in cargo boats to Laos, according to investigations by the bureau and the Internal Security Operations Command.

Once in Thailand, officials from the South Korean embassy will contact them and facilitate the last leg of travel to South Korea, which is their final destination.

However, because their entry and stay in Thailand are both illegal, the North Korean immigrants must be prosecuted in court, according to the Immigration Bureau.

While the North Koreans claim hardship in their country as the reason for resettlement in South Korea, illegal Pakistani migrants, mainly from a minority Islamic sect, cite religious conflict as the main cause for them trying to get to Europe and America.

The Ahmadiyya, the name given to people belonging to the sect, want the UNHCR to grant them refugee status.

In some Islamic countries, they claim, the Ahmadiyya are killed as they are not accepted by mainstream Muslims.

Despite their plight, Pol Lt Col Phongnakhon said, if they are illegal migrants in Thailand, they have to be tried, fined and held at the Immigration Bureau.

On Dec 14 last year, immigration police arrested 96 Pakistani Ahmadiyya at a housing estate in Pathum Thani. All have since been prosecuted under Thai law.

However, they were later released on bail on human rights grounds, Pol Lt Col Phongnakhon said.

Last Monday, the group was helped by human rights advocates from the Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation.

The Immigration Bureau requires them to report to police every 30 days while waiting for the UNHCR’s response to their request.

In the meantime, the foundation has agreed to provide them with accommodation and occupational training.

Also, the bureau has adhered to the non-refoulement policy, a principle under international law not to send refugees to places where their lives and freedom will be threatened. They ask the illegal migrants where they want to go before being deported.

All insist they will not go back to Pakistan, Pol Lt Col Phongnakhon said.

According to an investigation, most of the 96 Ahmadiyya are well-to-do and entered Thailand legally. However, they were categorised as illegal migrants because they had overstayed their visas. The over-stay was caused by their wait for refugee status.

“Investigators have found they are not involved in criminal or terrorism activities,” Pol Lt Col Phongnakhon said.

But their appearance in large numbers has worried other residents in the housing estate, he said.

The Immigration Bureau has urged members of the public to call 1178 if they have information about illegal immigrants in their neighbourhood.

Operators of home or car rental services were also warned against helping the immigrants. People who provide accommodation for illegal immigrants could face up to 10 years in jail or a fine of 100,000 baht, while those providing them with transport risk five years in prison or a fine of up to 50,000 baht, he said.

URL: www.bangkokpost.com/news/crimes/241900/immigration...priority

Thailand frees 96 Pakistani refugees

World | Pakistan

Thailand frees 96 Pakistani refugees

Conditions in the overcrowded detention centre saw 150 people sharing cells for 30-40 people

APPublished: 00:00 June 7, 2011

Image Credit: AP

Pakistani refugees walk in line to a waiting bus after they were released from the immigration detention centre in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

Bangkok: Almost 100 Pakistani refugees were freed Monday from Bangkok’s overcrowded immigration prison in an initiative spearheaded by Thai human rights activists.

The Thai Committee for Refugees said the release on bail of 96 members of Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya sect was the first such large-scale release of refugees who Thai authorities treat as illegal aliens.

The group negotiated the release with the state National Human Rights Commission and immigration officials.

Children

The detainees, about a third of whom are children, were arrested last December even though all but two were granted official refugee status by the United Nations because they face persecution in their homeland, where they are considered non-Muslim.

“We are feeling very happy… like a bird in a cage when it comes out,” said Mahmoud, a freed 35-year-old refugee who declined to give his last name. “But we should not say about inside.”

Inhumane conditions

The committee said conditions in the detention centre had been described as “overcrowded, inhumane and unhygienic,” with more than 150 people having to share cells designed for 30 to 40.

“In the women’s cell there were times when women had to stand so that some of them could sleep,” said Anoop Sukumaran, coordinator of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

“The children were often sleeping next to the toilets, which were overflowing with faeces and urine. The conditions, to say the least, were horrific at some points.”

Thailand attracts thousands of refugees each year because it is easily accessible by land and sea, and borders several countries that are politically repressive and economically weaker.

Tougher stance

It has generally been welcoming to refugees, especially when they have been fleeing warfare in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar.

In recent years, however, it has taken a harder line toward groups such as the Hmong from Laos and Rohingya from Myanmar, whom they see as economic migrants.

Those released Monday will stay in Bangkok until they are resettled in a third country.

URL: http://gulfnews.com/news/world/pakistan/thailand...818354

Detained in Thailand: Almost 100 Pakistani refugees released

Pakistan

Detained in Thailand: Almost 100 Pakistani refugees released

Published: June 7, 2011

The refugees, all members of the Ahmadi community, had been in detention for more than six months. PHOTO: REUTERS

BANGKOK: Almost 100 Pakistani refugees were freed on Monday from Bangkok’s overcrowded immigration prison in an initiative spearheaded by Thai human rights activists, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Thai Committee for Refugees said the release on bail of 96 members of Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya community was the first such large-scale release of refugees who Thai authorities treat as “illegal aliens”, according to AP.

The group negotiated the release with the state National Human Rights Commission and immigration officials.

The detainees, about a third of whom are children, were arrested last December even though all but two were granted official refugee status by the United Nations.

“We are feeling very happy … like a bird in a cage when it comes out,” said Mehnood, a freed 35-year-old refugee who declined to give his last name, as quoted by AP.

The committee said conditions in the detention centre had been described as “overcrowded, inhumane and unhygienic,” with more than 150 people having to share cells designed for 30 to 40 people.

“In the women’s cell there were times when some women had to stand so that others could sleep,” said co-coordinator of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network Anoop Sukumaran.

“The children were often sleeping next to the toilets, which were overflowing with feces and urine. The conditions, to say the least, were horrific at some points.”

Thailand attracts thousands of refugees each year because it is easily accessible by land and sea, and borders several countries that are politically repressive and economically weaker.

It has generally been welcoming to refugees, especially when they have been fleeing warfare in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Myanmar. In recent years, however, it has taken a harder line toward groups such as the Hmong from Laos and Rohingya from Myanmar, whom they see as economic migrants.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2011.

URL: http://tribune.com.pk/story/183407/thailand...refugees/

Pakistani refugees freed on bail from Thai jail

World

Pakistani refugees freed on bail from Thai jail

AP
June 06, 2011

A Thai police officer stands next to Pakistani refugees who walk in line to a waiting bus after they were released from the immigration detention center in Bangkok, Thailand Monday, June 6, 2011. – AP

BANGKOK: Almost 100 Pakistani refugees have been freed from Bangkok’s overcrowded immigration prison in an initiative spearheaded by Thai human rights activists.

The Thai Committee for Refugees says the 96 members of Pakistan’s Ahmadi sect were freed on bail Monday in the first such large-scale release of detainees the authorities treat as illegal aliens.

The group negotiated the release with the state National Human Rights Commission and immigration officials.

The detainees, about a third of whom are children, were arrested last December even though all but two were granted official refugee status by the United Nations because they faced persecution in their homeland.

“We are feeling very happy … like a bird in a cage when it comes out,” said Mehmood, a freed 35-year-old refugee who declined to give his last name. “But we should not say about inside.”

The committee said conditions in the detention center had been described as ”overcrowded, inhumane and unhygienic,” with more than 150 people having to share cells designed for 30 to 40.

“In the women’s cell there were times when women had to stand so that some of them could sleep,” said Anoop Sukumaran, coordinator of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

“The children were often sleeping next to the toilets, which were overflowing with feces and urine. The conditions, to say the least, were horrific at some points.”

They will stay in Bangkok until they are resettled in a third country.

© 2010 DAWN Media Group. All rights reserved
URL: www.dawn.com/2011/06/06/pakistani...jail.html

Thailand Releases Pakistan Minority Refugees on Bail, Welcomed by Activists

South Asia

Thailand Releases Pakistan Minority Refugees on Bail, Welcomed by Activists

Daniel Schearf | Bangkok June 06, 2011

Photo: AP

Pakistani refugees walk in line to a waiting bus after they were released from the immigration detention center in Bangkok, Thailand, June 6, 2011

Thailand has released nearly 100 refugees of the Ahmadiyah Muslim minority after six months in detention. The group of religious minorities, including women and children, fled persecution in Pakistan only to be arrested in Bangkok. Their release is the biggest-ever secured by a Thai refugee activist group.

The 96 refugees were jubilant after Thai immigration police released them from a Bangkok detention center.

“We are so happy, Kingdom of Thailand. We are, no have words what we say, we only say thank you very much,” said Rana Haroon Siddique, one of the men released on bail.

Siddique and others were freed after the Thai Committee for Refugees worked with Ahmadiyah Muslim groups and other activists to help pay more than $150,000 in bail money.

The Ahmadiyah practitioners fled to Thailand from Pakistan, where they are persecuted as heretics to Islam. Earlier this year, police in Bangkok arrested the 96 during several immigration raids from December to February.

Those in detention included women and more than 30 children, as well as a pregnant woman who gave birth in detention. Refugee rights groups said they were being held in unsanitary and overcrowded conditions with more than 150 people sharing cells meant for a maximum of 40 people.

The U.N. Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, welcomed their release. Spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey said they should not have been arrested in the first place.

“We welcome anyone getting out of detention,”she said. An immigration detention center is no place for any person, particularly elderly people, sick people, babies, children. We welcome any step that gets refugees out of detention. We do not think refugees should be locked up simply for being refugees in the first place.”

McKinsey says they worked with the detained group to fast-track their applications. She says all but two now have been recognized as refugees by the United Nations.

Thailand does not recognize refugees, making everyone without proper documentation subject to arrest and prosecution.

Police Lieutenant General Wiboon Bangthamai is commissioner of the immigration bureau. While he gave no indication authorities are planning to relax their stringent immigration policy, he indicated the dialogue with activists could help speed up the processing of refugees in detention.

He says, according to the law, if they enter Thailand illegally they must be arrested, but he says Thai authorities will continue to work with human-rights organizations on the issue.

While they are on bail, the Ahmadiyah are being housed in Bangkok until they are resettled to a third country.

URL: www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/south/Thailand...123225218.html

Pakistani refugees freed on bail from Thai jail

	June 6, 2011 Monday Updated 9.53 pm

SE Asia

Home > Breaking News > SE Asia > Story

Jun 6, 2011

Pakistani refugees freed on bail from Thai jail

Almost 100 Pakistani refugees have been freed from Bangkok’s overcrowded immigration prison in an initiative spearheaded by Thai human rights activists. – ST PHOTO: NIRMAL GHOSH

BANGKOK - ALMOST 100 Pakistani refugees have been freed from Bangkok’s overcrowded immigration prison in an initiative spearheaded by Thai human rights activists.

The Thai Committee for Refugees says the 96 members of Pakistan’s Ahmadiyya Muslim sect were freed on bail on Monday in the first such large-scale release of detainees the authorities treat as illegal aliens.

The group negotiated the release with the state National Human Rights Commission and immigration officials.

The detainees, about a third of whom are children, were arrested last December even though all but two were granted official refugee status by the United Nations because they faced persecution in their homeland.

They will stay in Bangkok until they are resettled in a third country. – AP

URL: www.straitstimes.com/.../STIStory_676772.html

Thailand releases Pakistani refugees on bail

Breaking News »

Thailand releases Pakistani refugees on bail

05 June 2011

Thai immigration police Monday released on bail 96 Pakistani refugees of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community who had been detained for nearly six months.

“Today is our day of freedom,” said Mehmood, one of the released Pakistanis. “We thank God.”

The group was detained in December after arriving from Pakistan to seek resettlement abroad with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has a regional office in Bangkok.

The group claimed political persecution in Pakistan.

Among those released on bail were 34 children under the age of 12, and one infant who was born while his mother was detained.

Their release was made possible by the Thai Committee for Refugees, a non-governmental organisation that put up a 5-million-baht (166,666-dollar) bond for the refugees, who will be housed in Bangkok while waiting for the UNHCR to process the resettlement applications.

“We are glad to see Thai society rallying to protect refugees, who - having fled persecution in their homelands - are among the most vulnerable people in this country,” said James Lynch, UNHCR’s representative for Thailand.

“The UN refugee agency believes no refugee should be locked up simply for being a refugee,” he added.//DPA

URL: www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Thailand...30157111.html