By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta stepped into the
deepening Rohingya crisis on Friday, denying any of the Muslim
boat people washing up in Thailand, India and Indonesia were from
its soil, but promising to take unspecified "measures".
"The Rohinja is not included in over 100 national races of
the Union of Myanmar," it said in all state-controlled papers,
its first reaction since reports surfaced two weeks ago of the
Thai army towing migrants out to sea and leaving them to die.
Rohinja is an alternative spelling for the oppressed Muslim
minority from Rakhine state in the former Burma's northwest.
"Moreover, a statement released yesterday by Thailand did not
mention that those who made attempt to illegally enter Thailand
from the sea were from Myanmar," the announcement added.
"Nevertheless, the departments concerned of the Government of
Myanmar will take necessary measures in connection with the above
matter," it continued, without elaboration.
More than 500 Rohingya are feared to have drowned since early
December after being towed out to sea by the Thai military and
abandoned in rickety, engine-less boats.
The army has admitted cutting them loose, but said they had
food and water and denied the engines were sabotaged.
Thailand is trying to depict them as illegal economic
migrants, but paraded a group of 78 intercepted on Monday on
domestic television, showing off wounds the migrants said were
inflicted by Myanmar naval officials.
Survivors of some of the Thai "push-backs" have corroborated
the reports of Myanmar abuse, with one man who washed up on
Indonesia's Aceh province in early January telling Al Jazeera
television he faced certain death if sent back to Myanmar.
In a bid to avert international outrage at its treatment,
Thailand allowed U.N. refugee workers on Thursday to see 12
children among the 78, who are in police custody in the southern
province of Ranong awaiting almost certain deportation.
However, deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongpajkdi
said the U.N. visit to the 12 had "no implications for their
legal status".
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials are
now back in Bangkok amid no signs of them being allowed to see
any others in the group. Spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey said she
could not discuss the children's testimony without approval from
the Thai government.
According to the UNHCR, 230,000 Rohingya now live a
precarious stateless existence in Bangladesh, having fled their
ancestral homes in northwest Myanmar after decades of abuse and
harassment at the hands of its Buddhist military rulers.
The junta have never recognised them as one of the country's
130-odd ethnic minorities, and those who have not fled are
restricted from travel inside the country. Besides Bangladesh,
there are large numbers of Rohingya in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Sugita
Katyal)
A policeman frisks his colleague outside a polling station in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad January 28, 2009. Soldiers, police, prisoners and displaced people began early voting on ...
Refugees & displacement
