UN goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie has urged Thailand to accept Muslim refugees fleeing neighbouring Burma. The actress's plea followed condemnation of the country for its treatment of the oppressed Rohingyas minority.
The Thai military has admitted to taking hundreds of Rohingyas out to sea and cutting them adrift, although the country insists that they had adequate food and water.
Jolie made the appeal while visiting refugee camps in the north of Thailand, where more than 110,000 members of the Christian Karen tribe have been given shelter.
"Visiting Ban Mai Nai Soi and seeing how hospitable Thailand has been to 111,000 mostly Karen and Karenni refugees over the years, makes me hope that Thailand will be just as generous to the Rohingya refugees who are now arriving on their shores," she said in a statement.
Jolie has visited countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan in her capacity as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency.
Source: The Nation Newspaper
