By: Larry Jagan and staff reporters
The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it was investigating the pushing of Burmese boat people out to sea by the Thai military, which human rights advocates and survivors say contributed to the deaths of hundreds of men.
The ministry said it was "investigating and verifying all the facts and surrounding circumstances".
But it added that while protecting the country's sea borders from illegal activities, including illegal immigration, "we are committed to maintaining our traditional adherence to humanitarian principles and the protection of human rights".
The United Nations refugee agency said it was concerned about the reports and urged the government to investigate.
"We request the Thai government take all measures necessary to ensure that the lives of Rohingya are not at risk and they are treated in accordance with humanitarian standards," Kitty McKinsey, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said.
Local human rights groups who have interviewed survivors, say Rohingya refugees from Burma were held on the remote Koh Sai Daeng off southern Thailand in December, forced back on boats with their hands bound and set adrift with little food and water.
The promised investigation came as survivors and representatives of the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority, claimed yesterday that a further 200 refugees are missing and feared dead after being taken out to sea by Thai authorities and set adrift over the New Year.
There are also fears for 46 Burmese refugee-seekers who were taken into custody by Thai authorities on Friday. A boat carrying the Rohingyas was intercepted off an island in southern Thailand. They were handed over to the local military authorities, according to a source in the area. Local villagers were discouraged from approaching them, he said.
Survivors of the Dec 18 incident in which the Thai military is accused of setting adrift 412 Rohingyas after detaining them on Koh Sai Daeng told the Bangkok Post Sunday of their ordeal when contacted at a relief camp on the Andaman Islands.
Source: The Bangkok Post
