Burmanet, 6 May 2011
According to Bumanet.org more than 1,000 refugees who fled to Thailand earlier this week due to armed conflict in Karen State, Burma were reportedly forced back to the conflict areas, refugees said.
“Since Thursday afternoon, Thai authorities told us to go back, saying the fighting is over. But actually fighting continues around our village. Therefore, we choose to hide in the jungle instead of going back home,” said a villager from Kyar Inn Seik Gyi Township, Karen State.
He added that forcing refugees back to the conflict area puts them at risk.
Following fresh armed conflict in Kyar Inn Seik Gyi township between government troops and an alliance between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, hundreds of refugees crossed the border into Thailand.
The refugees sought safety in Umphang Township, Thailand, which is about 210 km from Mae Sot, which sits opposite Burma’s border town of Myawaddy.
The number of refugees exceeded 1,000 on Thursday, according to aid workers in Mae Sot.
An officer in the Thai border patrol force, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “Skirmishes are far from the border. The situation is not very concerning for the refugees. That why they have to go back.”
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Thai authorities have tightened border security and increased troops. NGO workers in Mae Sot said that except for UNHCR and the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, NGOs have been barred from assisting the refugees.
Source:http://www.burmanet.org/news/2011/05/06/the-irrawaddy-karen-refugees-sent-back-to-burma/
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Freedom of movement - Burmese migrant workers
Mizzima News, 6 May 2011
According to Mizzima two Burmese migrant workers who threatened to return home were arrested by Malaysian police on Thursday, after they complained of crowded living conditions at an appliance factory.
The workers were among a group of Burmese employed at the Robeh Electric Appliances Plant in Senai Jaya.
‘Authorities asked us if we would go back to Burma or not, and we said yes. At around 6:30 p.m., they asked the name of the two workers who could speak Malaysian. Then the police handcuffed the two workers and took them away without explanation’, said Myo Myint Hlaing, a Burmese worker at the factory told Mizzima.
The workers said they asked for more living space but the factory did not try to meet the workers’ request.
‘They said they would provide it later. But, they did not. So, we felt upset and did not want to work. Our health is damaged. The whole room stinks’, said another worker.
The Burmese workers departed Burma on December 15, 2010, to work in the factory in Malaysia. They got the jobs with the help of the Diamond Pagan job agency in Rangoon. There are more than 260 workers in the factory and 47 are Burmese.
Labour rights activist Tun Tun of the Burma Campaign (Malaysia) told Mizzima that his organization has asked for help from regional human rights groups to get the two workers released.
Source: http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/5235-malaysian-police-arrest-two-burmese-workers-seeking-better-living-conditions.html
According to Mizzima two Burmese migrant workers who threatened to return home were arrested by Malaysian police on Thursday, after they complained of crowded living conditions at an appliance factory.
The workers were among a group of Burmese employed at the Robeh Electric Appliances Plant in Senai Jaya.
‘Authorities asked us if we would go back to Burma or not, and we said yes. At around 6:30 p.m., they asked the name of the two workers who could speak Malaysian. Then the police handcuffed the two workers and took them away without explanation’, said Myo Myint Hlaing, a Burmese worker at the factory told Mizzima.
The workers said they asked for more living space but the factory did not try to meet the workers’ request.
‘They said they would provide it later. But, they did not. So, we felt upset and did not want to work. Our health is damaged. The whole room stinks’, said another worker.
The Burmese workers departed Burma on December 15, 2010, to work in the factory in Malaysia. They got the jobs with the help of the Diamond Pagan job agency in Rangoon. There are more than 260 workers in the factory and 47 are Burmese.
Labour rights activist Tun Tun of the Burma Campaign (Malaysia) told Mizzima that his organization has asked for help from regional human rights groups to get the two workers released.
Source: http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/5235-malaysian-police-arrest-two-burmese-workers-seeking-better-living-conditions.html
Friday, May 6, 2011
Freedom of movement - Thailand
Bangkok Post 6.5.2011
Thai authorities have rejected South Korea's proposal to build a coordination centre for North Koreans who illegally enter Thailand. The centre was supposed to be creating in Chiang Rai province, a popular entry point for illegal North Korean immigrants into Thailand.
Most of the immigrants have escaped economic hardship in North Korea and travelled to Thailand for temporary refuge in the hope of being able to resettle in third countries, usually South Korea, a source at the Internal Security Operations Command said.
From October last 2010 until April this 2010, 899 North Koreans were arrested for illegal entry. Isoc spokesman Maj Gen Dithaporn Sasamit said that South Korea had offered to pay to take care of the illegal migrants. However, the government had turned down the proposal because it had no policy to open a new refugee centre.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/235550/illegal-north-korean-migrants-on-rise
Thai authorities have rejected South Korea's proposal to build a coordination centre for North Koreans who illegally enter Thailand. The centre was supposed to be creating in Chiang Rai province, a popular entry point for illegal North Korean immigrants into Thailand.
Most of the immigrants have escaped economic hardship in North Korea and travelled to Thailand for temporary refuge in the hope of being able to resettle in third countries, usually South Korea, a source at the Internal Security Operations Command said.
From October last 2010 until April this 2010, 899 North Koreans were arrested for illegal entry. Isoc spokesman Maj Gen Dithaporn Sasamit said that South Korea had offered to pay to take care of the illegal migrants. However, the government had turned down the proposal because it had no policy to open a new refugee centre.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/235550/illegal-north-korean-migrants-on-rise
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Freedom of expression - Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk has faced charges of violating Art. 112, the lese majeste law
Pratachai 3rd May 2011, Political Prisoners in Thailand 30th April 2011
On 30 April Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, an editor of Red Power magazine and a long-time labour activist, was arrested for allegedly “attempting to topple the high institution”. He was taken into the custody by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) at the border in Aranyaprathet, in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, as he was trying to cross into Cambodia.
Media reported that a police officer said the court granted a request from the DSI to hold Mr. Somoyot for ten days so that he could not “tamper with the evidence against him.”
On 3rd May 2011, he was placed in pre-trial custody by a Bangkok criminal court on a charge of lèse-majesté. A request for release on bail was rejected.
According to the Reporters Without Borders Mr. Somyot’s arrest is not an isolated case but one that targets all media that are close to or support the opposition.
Source:
1. http://prachatai.com/english/node/2473
2. https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/arrest-of-somyot-pruksakasemsuk/
Read more at:
1.http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/somyos-and-another-chance-for-the-nhrc/
2.http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/suthachai-and-somyos-again/
3.http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Police-want-trials-for-two-red-shirt-supporters-30136292.html
4.http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/234687/dsi-arrests-key-red-shirt-member
5.http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,RSF,,THA,4c57cf14c,0.html
On 30 April Mr. Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, an editor of Red Power magazine and a long-time labour activist, was arrested for allegedly “attempting to topple the high institution”. He was taken into the custody by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) at the border in Aranyaprathet, in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, as he was trying to cross into Cambodia.
Media reported that a police officer said the court granted a request from the DSI to hold Mr. Somoyot for ten days so that he could not “tamper with the evidence against him.”
On 3rd May 2011, he was placed in pre-trial custody by a Bangkok criminal court on a charge of lèse-majesté. A request for release on bail was rejected.
According to the Reporters Without Borders Mr. Somyot’s arrest is not an isolated case but one that targets all media that are close to or support the opposition.
Source:
1. http://prachatai.com/english/node/2473
2. https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/30/arrest-of-somyot-pruksakasemsuk/
Read more at:
1.http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2010/09/18/somyos-and-another-chance-for-the-nhrc/
2.http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/suthachai-and-somyos-again/
3.http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Police-want-trials-for-two-red-shirt-supporters-30136292.html
4.http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/234687/dsi-arrests-key-red-shirt-member
5.http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,RSF,,THA,4c57cf14c,0.html
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Freedom of expression: Shock over lese-majeste charge against Thammasat historian
Prachatai 23rd April, Prachatai 24th April
Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, Thammasat University historian, might face lèse majesté charges.
Somsak, a well known critic of the monarchy, has produced a number of critiques on issues concerning the institution claiming that it acts against freedom of expression.
On 24 April he organized a conference and released a statement calling for the protection of freedom of speech in Thailand. He explaind inter alia:
” During the last decade, I have written several academic and general articles on the monarchy, and have spoken publicly about this issue. I have never used these occasions to propose the so called “lom chao” or “overthrowing the monarchical institution.” Each and every one of my public statement and written work is premised on the assumption of the continuation of the monarchy. At the same time, I do not conceal my view concerning the need to transform and adapt the monarchy according to the principles of democratic governance, the rule of law, and the advances of the modern world. The law permits people to express their views or make recommendations concerning the necessity of transforming and adapting the monarchy. Such acts are not illegal; they break neither the constitutional nor criminal law. For this reason, I have always written and spoken about this issue under my real name. At the beginning of 2010, I presented my view concerning the reform of the monarchy as an eight-point proposal, which I subsequently made available to the public. The proposal was widely read. On February 21, 2010, Senator Kamnoon Sitthisamarn, for one, reproduced it, accompanied by his commentary, in Manager newspaper.
The talk I gave on December 10, 2010, and any statement or writing I have produced since then, have all been within the framework of these eight concrete, legally justifiable, proposals concerning reforming the monarchy.”
International and local intellectuals issued statements expressing their concern over the recent harassment and threats made against him.
Source:
1. http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2437
2. http://www.prachatai3.info/english/node/2436
3. http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/developments-in-the-somsak-case/
Read more at:
1. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/233524/intellectuals-join-somsak-to-defend-stance
2. http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2440
3. http://asiancorrespondent.com/53047/new-wave-of-thai-repression-begins-with-threats-to-academics/
Somsak Jeamtheerasakul, Thammasat University historian, might face lèse majesté charges.
Somsak, a well known critic of the monarchy, has produced a number of critiques on issues concerning the institution claiming that it acts against freedom of expression.
On 24 April he organized a conference and released a statement calling for the protection of freedom of speech in Thailand. He explaind inter alia:
” During the last decade, I have written several academic and general articles on the monarchy, and have spoken publicly about this issue. I have never used these occasions to propose the so called “lom chao” or “overthrowing the monarchical institution.” Each and every one of my public statement and written work is premised on the assumption of the continuation of the monarchy. At the same time, I do not conceal my view concerning the need to transform and adapt the monarchy according to the principles of democratic governance, the rule of law, and the advances of the modern world. The law permits people to express their views or make recommendations concerning the necessity of transforming and adapting the monarchy. Such acts are not illegal; they break neither the constitutional nor criminal law. For this reason, I have always written and spoken about this issue under my real name. At the beginning of 2010, I presented my view concerning the reform of the monarchy as an eight-point proposal, which I subsequently made available to the public. The proposal was widely read. On February 21, 2010, Senator Kamnoon Sitthisamarn, for one, reproduced it, accompanied by his commentary, in Manager newspaper.
The talk I gave on December 10, 2010, and any statement or writing I have produced since then, have all been within the framework of these eight concrete, legally justifiable, proposals concerning reforming the monarchy.”
International and local intellectuals issued statements expressing their concern over the recent harassment and threats made against him.
Source:
1. http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2437
2. http://www.prachatai3.info/english/node/2436
3. http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/developments-in-the-somsak-case/
Read more at:
1. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/233524/intellectuals-join-somsak-to-defend-stance
2. http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2440
3. http://asiancorrespondent.com/53047/new-wave-of-thai-repression-begins-with-threats-to-academics/
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