Members of the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) stand guard as they detain Rohingyas from Myanmar fleeing sectarian violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine region. (Image – HRW)
Members of the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) stand guard as they detain Rohingyas from Myanmar fleeing sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine region. (Image - HRW)
Members of the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) stand guard as they detain Rohingyas from Myanmar fleeing sectarian violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine region. (Image – HRW)

Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should end their pushbacks of boats with Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers, and instead bring them ashore and provide desperately needed aid, Human Rights Watch said.

As many as 8,000 Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are believed to be stranded in boats in the Andaman Ocean and Malacca Straits without adequate food, water, or sanitation, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported.

On 10 May 2015, more than 2000 people landed in Langkawi, Malaysia and Aceh, Indonesia, after weeks at sea, saying they had not eaten in days and suffering from serious health ailments from the cramped and unsanitary conditions on board smugglers’ boats.

“The Burmese government has created this crisis with their continued persecution of the Rohingya,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia have made things much worse with cold-hearted policies to push back this new wave of ‘boat people’ that puts thousands of lives at risk.”

“Other governments should urge the three governments to work together to rescue these desperate people and offer them humanitarian aid, help in processing claims, and resettlement places for those in need of international protection.”

Indonesian authorities have admitted to pushing back one boat on 11 May and directing it to Malaysia after providing food and water to those on board.

In Malaysia, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar publicly stated that the government will turn back boats and deport those who land ashore.

Senior Thai officials have said that the government has adopted a policy of pushing away boats from Thai shores after providing them with fuel, food, and water. Thailand’s Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has called for a regional meeting on 29 May to address the situation.

Bangladesh has long pushed back boats carrying Rohingya, forcing them to make the dangerous journey to Southeast Asia.

For several years, people smugglers have been transporting ethnic Rohingya from western Burma’s Arakan State, and an increasing number of Bangladeshis, by boat to Thai shores, where they are moved overland and then held in jungle camps for ransom. Those able to pay the 60,000 to 70,000 baht (US$1,800 to 2,100) ransom were released and transported to Malaysia, while those unable to pay were held and allegedly abused.

On 1 May, a Thai government raid on a jungle camp in Sadao district on the Thai-Malaysia border uncovered 26 bodies, sparking a larger Thai government crackdown on networks smuggling Rohingya and Bangladeshis in Thailand. Since then, Thai military and police officials have found more such camps and exhumed more bodies, and as camp guards have fled, more than 250 survivors have escaped the camps and been detained by the authorities.

The crackdown effectively closed the smuggling route through Thailand, leaving boats in transit with Rohingya and Bangladeshis unable to land their human cargo. As a result, smugglers have sought to offload these people in Malaysia or Indonesia, or abandoned their boats and left them to drift. Thai authorities at the most senior levels have long known about these smuggling rings and turned a blind eye.

700px-Hrw_logo.svg“The Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian navies should stop playing a three-way game of human ping pong, and instead should work together to rescue all those on these ill-fated boats,” Robertson said. “The world will judge these governments by how they treat these most vulnerable men, women, and children.”

The Rohingya are fleeing systematic rights violations by the Burmese government, which effectively prevents them from obtaining citizenship under the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law.

In October 2012, the Rohingya were subject to attacks across Arakan State that Human Rights Watch determined constituted ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The government has not held anyone accountable for the violence, which destroyed thousands of Rohingya homes and caused massive displacement.

More than 130,000 Rohingya have been confined to internally displaced persons camps with little freedom of movement to pursue livelihoods, and a lack of access to adequate food, health care, and education.

On 1 April 2015, the government formally rescinded the temporary ID cards, or “white cards,” that were the last form of official government identification extended to stateless Rohingya, and stripped them of voting rights, which had been linked to the ID cards.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya fearing continued persecution and poverty have fled Burma using the services of people smugglers promising passage to Malaysia or other countries. The Arakan Project, which has long monitored Rohingya movement, estimated that approximately 28,500 Rohingya fled on boats in just the first three months of 2015. According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, an estimated 300 people have died at sea from January to March.

“If Southeast Asian nations are genuinely concerned about the mass flight of Rohingya from Burma, they should demand that Burma immediately end widespread rights abuses against this most vulnerable population,” Robertson said. “Ending discriminatory policies and ensuring full security so that Rohingya can safely and with dignity return to their homes in Arakan State would be a good place to start.”

Subscribe
Notify of
3 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Mistake in ST reporting: WSH maximum fine is not $10,000

By Singapore Rat Race There seems to be a mistake in the Straits…

公司要享有全年招聘奖励? 杨莉明:需保有超过10本地员工

人力部长杨莉明昨指出,若公司希望享有12个月的招聘奖励计划(Jobs Growth Incentive),就必须保有超过10名本地员工。 有关奖励计划,是由副总理兼经济政策统筹部长及财政部长王瑞杰,于周一发布,这项总值10亿元的计划,旨在鼓励有潜能、前景的企业聘用本地员工。 谈及企业获得有关奖励计划的条件,她举例,一家公司在1月至8月期间,平均要保有10名本地员工。若该公司在9月份新招聘两名员工,那么在首5000元的新员工薪金中,公司将会获得长达12个月的25巴仙薪金援助。若员工年龄在40岁或以上,有关的薪金援助将增加一倍,至50巴仙。 但是,在获得有关奖励计划的公司,必须确保本地员工数量超过10人。 员工流失将影响奖励巴仙率 她在脸书帖文中指出,奖励计划也会随着原本团队中的10名本地员工流失,而出现变动。“这很公平,因为公司不会从替换员工中受惠。” 杨莉明解释道,若原本的10名员工中有人被解雇,而公司聘请新员工替代,奖励计划的薪金援助将会减少。公司仍可享有新员工的薪金援助,但是对新员工的薪金援助巴仙率将有所减少。 “我们将在本月内发布更多详情,以帮助雇主了解招聘奖励计划。” 她指出,随着新加坡逐步开放经济和边界,某些行业的复苏会比其他行业来得快,而某些行业则有可能完全转型。“这意味着,即使某些领域会出现失业者,某些领域会出现新空缺。在增长领域中,我们希望雇主招聘和培训新加坡人。” 而有了招聘奖励计划,相关领域的公司还可以从中省下客观的金额,让他们在扩大人力和提前招聘上取得优势。“毕竟这是我国自冠状病毒19对经济领域带来重创后,有史以来最大的推动计划。”