Arakan News Agency
Another stranded boat packed with hundreds of migrants who are believed to be victims of human trafficking was spotted off the coast of Thailand.
The International Organization for Migration confirmed to VOA on Thursday the vessel was located, although it is not clear whether the boat is in Thai or Malaysian waters.
In an interview with VOA, Thai Lieutenant Colonel Bunjerd Manvej said the vessel is 8 nautical miles from Malaysia’s Langkawi island, putting it inside Malaysian territory. Malaysian officials deny this, insisting the boat is in Thai territory.
Chris Lewa with the Arakan Project, which has been closely monitoring the refugee crisis, told VOA the estimated 350 refugees are “absolutely” in Thai waters, just southeast of the island of Koh Lipe.
“They’ll be really safe only when they’re taken ashore,” said Lewa, who added the boat is one of two that received emergency assistance from, and then was pushed away by, the Malaysian Navy earlier this week.
Refugees turned away
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Southeast Asian governments have refused to take in the desperate refugees and migrants, many of whom were abandoned after a Thai crackdown on a vast people-smuggling ring disrupted the criminal transportation networks.
About 2,000 of the so-called boat people have been either rescued, or intercepted and turned away in the past week. Activists estimate as many as 8,000 people remain adrift in dozens of overcrowded boats.
Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand – three countries where the migrants and refugees have tried to reach – say the desperate migrants are not their responsibility, rejecting appeals by the United Nations and rights groups.
Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Thursday said his country must “send the right message: that they are not welcome here.” Other Malaysian officials said sea and air patrols were being ramped up to prevent “illegal intrusion.”
Earlier this week, over 1,000 abandoned boat people swam ashore in Malaysia. Officials said they are now being held in detention camps while preparations are being made to send them elsewhere.
Nearly 600 migrants were also rescued Sunday by the Indonesian navy. Officials said they are now being given food and shelter in the north Aceh region while the government consults with the U.N. and other international bodies.
The U.N. refugee agency this week appealed for an international search-and-rescue operation to help the boat people. Many survivors have said those stuck at sea are hungry and sick, and some have died.
The United States is also “concerned by reports of thousands of migrants on land and at sea who may need urgent humanitarian protection and assistance,” said W. Patrick Murphy with the U.S. Embassy in Thailand.
Regional challenge
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Speaking via Twitter, Murphy said the U.S. is “appreciative” that regional governments have accommodated many of the Rohingya, but stressed the “irregular migration” is a regional challenge “that needs to be addressed in region.”
Matthew Smith, executive director of the Fortify Rights group, told VOA he is concerned about the fate of those on board the boats, if they are not reached soon.
“The whole situation is appalling, start to finish. And it’s an important point I think that it’s been going on for quite some time. This certainly isn’t the first time that boats have been pushed back to sea. This type of thing has been happening for several years. And the persecution of the Rohingya has been going on for several decades,” Smith said.
Many of the refugees are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, where they are the victims of persecution that Human Rights Watch said amounts to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Rohingya people in Myanmar are largely denied basic rights such as citizenship and freedom of movement.
Others on board the boats are thought to be migrants who are trying to escape poverty in Bangladesh.
The boat people are victims of a large-scale human-trafficking campaign under which the migrants were promised jobs in neighboring countries but were later held for ransom or sold, essentially as slaves.
After years of pressure by international rights groups, Thailand recently moved to crack down on the multimillion-dollar people-smuggling ring. In the process, it found several abandoned jungle camps, including some that contained mass graves with dozens of bodies.
Officials have arrested more than a dozen alleged smugglers, including some senior local officials.
Source : VOA
