BANGKOK: "Please help us," came the cry from a people smuggler's boat carrying hundreds of frail and distressed Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
"Please give me water."
Ten people had died during a horror two-month voyage across the Bay of Bengal, they said, the bodies thrown into the sea.
Many on board the converted fishing trawler carrying men, women, children and babies, wept on Thursday as a boat carrying journalists including from the New York Times, came alongside.
But several hours after the Rohingya were discovered adrift in the Andaman Sea 17 kilometres off a southern Thai island their boat turned away from Thailand, the fate of those on board now unknown in a spiralling humanitarian crisis in south-east Asian waters.
Malaysia has bluntly told thousands of Rohingya and Bangladesh migrants and asylum seekers stranded on boats in the Malacca Strait and Andaman Sea they cannot come ashore and Indonesia earlier in the week provided fuel and provisions for a boat carrying hundreds and sent them back to sea.
Royal Thai Navy Lieutenant commander Weerapong Nakpradit said six Thai fishing boats were told to give the Rohingyas food, water and medicine after they were discovered on Thursday.
He said those on board said the boat had engine problems and drifted into Thai waters but they wanted to go to Malaysia or Indonesia.
Journalists confirmed the boat people said they wanted to reach Malaysia, where more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees have been allowed to live quietly among Malaysians in recent years.
Deputy Thai government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Thailand's prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup last year, had made it clear that if the Rohingyas wanted to make landfall his country was willing to provide humanitarian assistance but they must comply with legal procedures relating to migrants.
Thailand has been cracking down on human trafficking networks since mass graves of Rohingya and Bangladeshis were discovered in abandoned people smuggler' camps near Thailand's border with Malaysia.
Thai authorities are prosecuting almost 200 people for illegally entering the country. In the past people facing similar charges have languished in Thai jails for years.
Thailand's disruption of the trafficking networks prompted people smugglers to abandon migrants and asylum seekers on boats still at sea, escalating the crisis at a time that more boats were making the dangerous sea crossing from Myanmar.
The United Nations has appealed to regional countries to initiate search and rescue operations to find the boats and bring them ashore.
Mr Prayuth, a former army commander, has ordered a survey of two unpopulated islands for temporary camps that could be used for Rohingya and other boat people.
But Panitan Wattanayagorn, a senior Thai government adviser, said the government would wait for the outcome of a summit of regional nations and international refugee agencies on May 29 before deciding whether to set up any camps.
"If we take them all in, then anyone who wants to come will come freely," Mr Prayuth said.
"I am asking if Thailand will be able to take care of them all. Where will the budget come from?" he said.
"No-one wants them. Everyone wants a transit country like us to take responsibility. Is it fair?"
The United Nations says more than 130,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar, the country also called Burma, since 2012, including 25,000 in the first three months of this year.
Many of them moved through Thailand with ruthless human trafficking networks that have alleged connections to some powerful Thai politicians, local officials and police.
The multi-nation International Organisation for Migration estimates as many as 8000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis are believed to be stranded on boats without adequate food, water and sanitation.
Human Rights Watch has called on Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to immediately end their pushback of boats and provide desperately needed aid.
Poverty-stricken Rohingya have been described by the UN as among the world's most persecuted people.
Denied citizenship in Myanmar's western Arakan State, more than one million of them face daily discrimination and a raft of restrictions, including controls on their movement, family size, religious freedom and access to jobs.
On Friday around 700 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were rescued by fishing boats when their boat sank of Indonesia's Aceh province.
Indonesian police said initial reports indicated the boat had been pushed back to sea by Malaysia.
On Friday afternoon, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was alarmed at reports that some countries were refusing entry to boats carrying refugees and migrants.
He urged nations to abide by their obligations under international law and keep their borders open to vulnerable people.
"Please give me water."
Ten people had died during a horror two-month voyage across the Bay of Bengal, they said, the bodies thrown into the sea.
Many on board the converted fishing trawler carrying men, women, children and babies, wept on Thursday as a boat carrying journalists including from the New York Times, came alongside.
But several hours after the Rohingya were discovered adrift in the Andaman Sea 17 kilometres off a southern Thai island their boat turned away from Thailand, the fate of those on board now unknown in a spiralling humanitarian crisis in south-east Asian waters.
Malaysia has bluntly told thousands of Rohingya and Bangladesh migrants and asylum seekers stranded on boats in the Malacca Strait and Andaman Sea they cannot come ashore and Indonesia earlier in the week provided fuel and provisions for a boat carrying hundreds and sent them back to sea.
Royal Thai Navy Lieutenant commander Weerapong Nakpradit said six Thai fishing boats were told to give the Rohingyas food, water and medicine after they were discovered on Thursday.
He said those on board said the boat had engine problems and drifted into Thai waters but they wanted to go to Malaysia or Indonesia.
Journalists confirmed the boat people said they wanted to reach Malaysia, where more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees have been allowed to live quietly among Malaysians in recent years.
Deputy Thai government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Thailand's prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup last year, had made it clear that if the Rohingyas wanted to make landfall his country was willing to provide humanitarian assistance but they must comply with legal procedures relating to migrants.
Thailand has been cracking down on human trafficking networks since mass graves of Rohingya and Bangladeshis were discovered in abandoned people smuggler' camps near Thailand's border with Malaysia.
Thai authorities are prosecuting almost 200 people for illegally entering the country. In the past people facing similar charges have languished in Thai jails for years.
Thailand's disruption of the trafficking networks prompted people smugglers to abandon migrants and asylum seekers on boats still at sea, escalating the crisis at a time that more boats were making the dangerous sea crossing from Myanmar.
The United Nations has appealed to regional countries to initiate search and rescue operations to find the boats and bring them ashore.
Mr Prayuth, a former army commander, has ordered a survey of two unpopulated islands for temporary camps that could be used for Rohingya and other boat people.
But Panitan Wattanayagorn, a senior Thai government adviser, said the government would wait for the outcome of a summit of regional nations and international refugee agencies on May 29 before deciding whether to set up any camps.
"If we take them all in, then anyone who wants to come will come freely," Mr Prayuth said.
"I am asking if Thailand will be able to take care of them all. Where will the budget come from?" he said.
"No-one wants them. Everyone wants a transit country like us to take responsibility. Is it fair?"
The United Nations says more than 130,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar, the country also called Burma, since 2012, including 25,000 in the first three months of this year.
Many of them moved through Thailand with ruthless human trafficking networks that have alleged connections to some powerful Thai politicians, local officials and police.
The multi-nation International Organisation for Migration estimates as many as 8000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis are believed to be stranded on boats without adequate food, water and sanitation.
Human Rights Watch has called on Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to immediately end their pushback of boats and provide desperately needed aid.
Poverty-stricken Rohingya have been described by the UN as among the world's most persecuted people.
Denied citizenship in Myanmar's western Arakan State, more than one million of them face daily discrimination and a raft of restrictions, including controls on their movement, family size, religious freedom and access to jobs.
On Friday around 700 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were rescued by fishing boats when their boat sank of Indonesia's Aceh province.
Indonesian police said initial reports indicated the boat had been pushed back to sea by Malaysia.
On Friday afternoon, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was alarmed at reports that some countries were refusing entry to boats carrying refugees and migrants.
He urged nations to abide by their obligations under international law and keep their borders open to vulnerable people.
Considering the decades long exploitation of illegal migrant workers in Thailand, who can be seen in their thousands every day just here on Phuket being trucked back and forth from worksites, surely Thailand could afford to give something back.
I think the General conveniently forgets this fact when he pleads for fairness.
These people need help NOW. How many more will die in the 2 weeks Thailand wishes to just wait for a bloody meeting ?
Posted by Herbert on May 15, 2015 18:51