Thai police dig up 26 bodies at jungle camp

PADANG BESAR: Police officials in Thailand trekked into the mountains and dug up 26 bodies from dozens of shallow graves at an abandoned jungle camp that's been linked to human trafficking networks, which activists say are "out of control" in the Southeast Asian country.

A total of 26 bodies have been found at the camp, which includes 32 gravesites scattered around the site in a forested area of southern Thailand, said police Gen. Jarumporn Suramanee, who was leading the excavation that started a day earlier. The cause of the deaths was not immediately clear. But Friday's discovery of the hidden mountain camp was a sharp reminder that trafficking continues in Thailand despite repeated assurances by authorities that they are addressing the root causes.

"I think the excavation is finished because we have dug up all the 32 graves, although some graves did not have any bodies in them," Jarumporn said. "We will have to wait for the DNA test results and analysis from other evidence before identifying who they are and what their causes of death were."

Authorities say the area of the camp, in the mountains of Padang Besar, a sub-district in Songkhla province, is regularly used to smuggle Rohingya Muslims, who are persecuted in neighbouring Myanmar, as well as Bangladeshis and other migrants, to third countries.

A government spokesman issued a stern reaction on Saturday, saying Thailand is determined "to eliminate every type of human trafficking and block Thailand from being a transit point." The spokesman, Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd, added that those behind the camp will be "severely punished," regardless of whether they are common criminals or corrupt officials.

Human Rights Watch called for an independent investigation, saying the involvement of corrupt Thai officials has long fuelled the trafficking industry. "Trafficking of persons in Thailand has long been out of control," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The finding of a mass grave at a trafficking camp sadly comes as little surprise."

Last June, the United States put Thailand in its lowest category – Tier 3 – in an annual assessment of how governments around the world have performed in fighting human trafficking. The ranking took into account the smuggling of Myanmar's Rohingya community, as well as cases of migrants from neighbouring countries who are forced or defrauded into working against their will in the sex industry, commercial fishing, garment production, factories and domestic work.

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