Tuesday, January 27, 2009

politcal spotlight

Title: Probe questions fate of refugees in Thailand

Short Summary:

As hungry Rohingya refugees (members of a Muslim minority group) arrived at the shores of Thailand, they had thought they were finally free of the hard-line military regime of Myanmar (aka Burma). However, CNN investigation has found that at the hands of Thai authorities, the refugees have been towed out to sea, cut loose and abandoned and set adrift. The Rohingya, a persecuted minority in Myanmar, have been fleeing their country in boats for years, in search of a better life. One of the sources from the Thai military claimed local villagers had become afraid of the hundreds of Rohingya arriving each month, and that they were accusing the refugees of stealing their property and threatening them. CNN asked the government for comment and was told that an investigation was being launched and that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has plans to call an emergency meeting once the country's foreign minister returns from Cambodia.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/25/thailand.refugees/index.html


More tidbits /info about Rohingya people (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4793924.stm )

Burma’s forgotten Rohingya people of wastern Burma’s Arakan State have been called one of the world’s most persecuted people. Some argue they are also one of the most forgotten.

  • · They are forbidden from marrying or travelling without permission and have no legal right to own land or property
  • · Not only that but even though groups of them have been living in Burma for hundreds of years, they are also denied citizenship by the country's military government.
  • · In addition to their almost total lack of legal rights many have been regularly beaten by police, forced to do slave labor and jailed for little or no reason.

More readings to further knowledge:

Life under Burma’s military: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5071966.stm



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