country_cowboy1966
01-28-2009, 05:15 AM
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A group of refugees who survived being at sea for a month, then being beaten and burned, now await the next turn of their fates in the Thai court system.
The refugees washed ashore Tuesday in Thailand, having fled Myanmar, also known as Burma. The group of 78, many of them members of the Rohingya minority group, said they had been persecuted in Myanmar because of their ethnicity.
Many had burns and wounds upon landing in Thailand. One refugee named Mohamed told CNN their boat had been at sea a month and been attacked and detained by Myanmar's military before being set on fire.
On Wednesday, 62 of them faced the Thai court system. Four others were hospitalized, and the remaining 12 -- who are younger than 18 -- await separate legal proceedings, Thai officials said.
One said the group will be killed if returned to Myanmar because of their minority status. He said the Rohingya are stateless because they lack bribe money to obtain identification cards in Myanmar.
The Rohingya will most likely be fined, jailed and later deported. The need to find translators has slowed their court proceedings, officials said.
The refugees are unwelcome in Thailand, where authorities say about 20,000 have settled illegally.
Photos obtained by CNN include one that shows the Thai army towing a boatload of some 190 refugees far out to sea. CNN also interviewed a refugee who said he was one of the few who survived after his group of six rickety boats were towed back to sea and abandoned by Thai authorities earlier this month. Watch Dan Rivers' BackStory on the investigation »
The Thai army has denied such allegations, and the Thai government has launched an inquiry.
But after extensive questioning, one source in the Thai military did confirm to CNN that the Thai army was operating a dump-at-sea policy. The source defended it, insisting that each boatload of refugees was given sufficient supplies of food and water.
That source claimed local villagers had become afraid of the hundreds of Rohingya arriving each month, accusing the refugees of stealing their property and threatening them.
The Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar in makeshift boats for years in search of a better life and maintain that they are fleeing persecution by the regime in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
The Thai government maintains "there is no reasonable ground to believe" that the Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar because of persecution.
"Their profile and their seasonal travel further support the picture that they are illegal migrants, and not those requiring international protection," it said in a statement released Tuesday by the foreign ministry.
The Thai government added that it deals with all illegal migrants in accordance with its laws and international guidelines. It said "basic humanitarian needs" are given to the migrants before they are returned home.
"We have upheld our humanitarian tradition and ensured that new arrivals are adequately provided with food, water and medicines, with necessary repairs to their boats," the ministry's statement said.
The government said "accepting those arriving in an irregular manner would simply encourage new arrivals."
The government "categorically denied" media reports alleging Thai authorities mistreat the illegal migrants, and intentionally damage their boats. Officials said They would seriously investigate such cases if any "concrete evidence" were presented.
The refugees washed ashore Tuesday in Thailand, having fled Myanmar, also known as Burma. The group of 78, many of them members of the Rohingya minority group, said they had been persecuted in Myanmar because of their ethnicity.
Many had burns and wounds upon landing in Thailand. One refugee named Mohamed told CNN their boat had been at sea a month and been attacked and detained by Myanmar's military before being set on fire.
On Wednesday, 62 of them faced the Thai court system. Four others were hospitalized, and the remaining 12 -- who are younger than 18 -- await separate legal proceedings, Thai officials said.
One said the group will be killed if returned to Myanmar because of their minority status. He said the Rohingya are stateless because they lack bribe money to obtain identification cards in Myanmar.
The Rohingya will most likely be fined, jailed and later deported. The need to find translators has slowed their court proceedings, officials said.
The refugees are unwelcome in Thailand, where authorities say about 20,000 have settled illegally.
Photos obtained by CNN include one that shows the Thai army towing a boatload of some 190 refugees far out to sea. CNN also interviewed a refugee who said he was one of the few who survived after his group of six rickety boats were towed back to sea and abandoned by Thai authorities earlier this month. Watch Dan Rivers' BackStory on the investigation »
The Thai army has denied such allegations, and the Thai government has launched an inquiry.
But after extensive questioning, one source in the Thai military did confirm to CNN that the Thai army was operating a dump-at-sea policy. The source defended it, insisting that each boatload of refugees was given sufficient supplies of food and water.
That source claimed local villagers had become afraid of the hundreds of Rohingya arriving each month, accusing the refugees of stealing their property and threatening them.
The Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar in makeshift boats for years in search of a better life and maintain that they are fleeing persecution by the regime in Myanmar, formerly Burma.
The Thai government maintains "there is no reasonable ground to believe" that the Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar because of persecution.
"Their profile and their seasonal travel further support the picture that they are illegal migrants, and not those requiring international protection," it said in a statement released Tuesday by the foreign ministry.
The Thai government added that it deals with all illegal migrants in accordance with its laws and international guidelines. It said "basic humanitarian needs" are given to the migrants before they are returned home.
"We have upheld our humanitarian tradition and ensured that new arrivals are adequately provided with food, water and medicines, with necessary repairs to their boats," the ministry's statement said.
The government said "accepting those arriving in an irregular manner would simply encourage new arrivals."
The government "categorically denied" media reports alleging Thai authorities mistreat the illegal migrants, and intentionally damage their boats. Officials said They would seriously investigate such cases if any "concrete evidence" were presented.