On January 27, 2009, the 3rd marine division of the Thai Navy arrested 78 Rohingya boat people near the southwestern area of Surin Island in the Andaman sea region.  The men, ranging from 14-45 years old, were found beaten and wounded.  The officers pulled the boat ashore to provide first aid before carrying out the process of deportation.  It is quite evident that most of them were injured by Burmese soldiers.  In fact, the Rohingya boat people incident has been occurring for the past few months with no resolution besides hasty accusations and reprimands.  Based on our close monitoring of the situation, the following are the People’s Empowerment Foundation’s recommendations for the incident:

1. The root cause of this problem is the undemocratic, discriminatory, and unfair treatment of the Rohingya minority people in Burma.  Thus, the international community should denounce the unjust actions of the Burmese government and urge them to stop the violation of Arakan and other minority groups’ rights. Burma must stop oppressing its people and destabilizing the ASEAN community.  Burmese political turmoil has generated currents of migration into neighboring countries, particularly Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with the Burmese government neglecting all responsibility. We believe that the international community should act promptly, with vigor and determination, to bring change inside Burma.  The continued inducement of refugees, diasporas, and human rights violations must be stopped.

2. It is clear that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) lacks the capacity to ensure livelihoods and protect the rights of those in refugee camps in Bangladesh and around the Thai-Burmese border.  In the UNHCR camps, the majority of refugees live in miserable and hopeless conditions.  We urge the UNHCR to adopt more clear and effective policies, including the implementation of medium and long-term plans for the refugee camps.  Furthermore, it should develop a more cooperative and consultative approach to the countries of concern so as not to let any country face problems without guidance and direction.  While there exist international organizations, such as Médecins Sans Frontière, that provide refugees with needed assistance, they can only handle humanitarian aspects of the problem.  Countries such as Thailand and Bangladesh, who act as temporary shelters for refugees, need clearer guidelines from the UNHCR in terms of operation and policy, rather than mere investigation and denouncement.

3. In the case of the Rohingya boat people, we urge the UNHCR to work more cooperatively and constructively with Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Burma, and the international community.  Collaboration among governments and the UNHCR should be in the interest of the Rohingya people as well as other refugee groups.  We would like to hear a proposed solution to this ongoing problem from the UNHCR.  Please communicate with the international community.

4. We also urge the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), who acts as the coordinator among Islamic countries, to take initiative in the form of broad and serious consultation among member countries in order to find a solution to the Rohingya boat people issue.  Please do not remain silent on this matter because the Rohingya boat people are members of your Muslim community.

5.  Foreign presses who exposed this issue, and all those who have spread superficial information without any effort to inform people about the root causes and key factors of the incident, should be aware that the refugee issue is complex and persistent.  As long as the world lacks peace, there will be diasporas, stateless people, refugees, and so on.  All of us, including the international community and foreign presses, must assume responsibility for problems concerning humanity, including that of the Rohingya boat people.

6. As we indicated in the first statement, the Thai government, especially directly involved military and security authorities, must be transparent in conveying their stances and informing people about the incident.  For example, on the morning of February 3rd, there was another boat found off the coast of East Aceh, this one with 22 casualties.  According to our information, this boat is believed to have been forced out of Thailand.  The silent attitude of the Thai state, which has maintained its composure since the beginning of this matter, does no good for the country.  It implies the acceptance of wrongdoing, even though Thailand does not considers itself an initiator of this tragedy but merely one of the routes and receiving countries of human trafficking.  As Thailand is currently the chair of the ASEAN community, the state should play a leading role in protecting human rights and addressing transnational issues of migrant worker and human trafficking.  Thailand may take initiative as a coordinator of all stakeholders, including Burma, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the UNHCR, in order to collectively arrive at a sustainable solution to this issue.

7. Finally, we hope that ASEAN will discuss this matter both internally and with the international community and the UNHCR in order to tackle the problem.  We encourage and strongly support ASEAN efforts to promote the goodness and wellbeing of humanity.

People’s Empowerment Foundation
3 February 2009