SONGKHLA : About 100 police and defence volunteers are hunting 84 Rohingya migrants who escaped their detention centre at the immigration office in Sadao district early yesterday.
Sadao immigration officials said 86 of the 137 Rohingya migrants held at the centre broke out _ the second mass escape of Rohingya in the district in two weeks.
They used files to cut iron bars in their cell, broke through the ceiling and then used sarongs as ropes to scale down eight metres from the roof before fleeing into a rubber plantation behind the immigration office building.
Two of the escapees have been recaptured. They were apparently exhausted and sustained minor injuries, probably during the escape.
Authorities believe the other 84 are still hiding in rubber plantations nearby and will try to cross into Malaysia.
Songkhla immigration police chief Karn Thammakasem said authorities had recently beefed up security at detention centres in the province by installing more surveillance cameras and lights and increasing the number of security guards.
On Aug 9, 30 Rohingya broke out of their cell at Sadao district police station.
Police managed to recapture 24 of them, and they were charged with escaping from a detention centre and causing damage to state properties.
They were jailed for one month and fined 500 baht each.
Rohingya refugees, who have fled persecution in Myanmar, are detained in various locations across the country.
In Songkhla, 360 Rohingya are being detained at immigration centres and police stations.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday said it opposed a government proposal to relocate Rohingya arrivals from the detention centres to camps near the Myanmar border.
Sunai Phasuk, a senior researcher on Thailand for the New York-based organisation, expressed concern about the safety of the detainees if the plan goes ahead.
The best solution is to find third countries for resettlement, although other nations are usually reluctant to accept them, he said.
Thailand has detained about 17,000 Rohingya boat people, mostly at immigration offices and social welfare shelters in the far South. About 300 are on the run from the camps.
Social Development and Human Security Minister Paveena Hongsakula recently floated the idea of moving them all to camps in Suan Phueng district of Ratchaburi province and Mae Sot district in Tak.
This increased burden was sharply opposed by residents in the two provinces last week, as they already house Karen refugees from Myanmar.
HRW called for the release of the Rohingya because of worries over "inhumane and unsafe conditions".
"Some senior Thai officials have recognised the Rohingya's plight, but they are still considering proposals that would keep them detained," HRW's Asia director Brad Adams said.
"The government needs to end the inhumane detention of Rohingya people and ensure the United Nations refugee agency and other international organisations have full access to provide much needed protection and assistance."
Authorities have insisted the rights of the Rohingya in detention are being respected.
Thailand is trying to persuade Myanmar to allow them to go back, but the Myanmar government says it first needs to verify that they fled from inter-ethnic and religious violence in its Rakhine State, and did not hail from other countries.
Share this article
About the author
Writer: Wichayant BoonchotePosition: Writer
Bangkok Post online classifieds
Try buying selling goods and properties 24/7 in our classifieds which has high purchasing power local expatriate audience from within Thailand and around the world.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/86-rohingya-refugees-break-out-of-shelter/
No comments:
Post a Comment