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Thailand readies for official visit by Suu Kyi

Migrant rights, Rohingya high on rights groups' agendas
Thailand readies for official visit by Suu Kyi

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi gestures to Myanmar refugees during a visit to the Mae La refugee camp near the Thai-Myanmar border in Thailand in this June 2, 2012 photo. Myanmar foreign minister Suu Kyi arrives in Thailand June 23 for a three-day official visit. (Photo by AFP)

Published: June 22, 2016 10:30 AM GMT
Updated: June 22, 2016 10:36 AM GMT

Rights groups have urged Myanmar foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi to address the plight of trafficked Rohingya and push for greater protections for migrant workers ahead of a three-day official visit to Thailand this week.

"This visit is a great opportunity for people from Myanmar to draw to the attention of Her Excellency the plight of the Rohingya people, who have for generations considered Myanmar as their homeland," the Coalition on the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons said in a statement.

Suu Kyi was set to arrive in Bangkok on June 23 at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. It will be the former political prisoner's first visit since her National League of Democracy swept into power in November 2015.

Though she is legally barred from holding the presidential office, Suu Kyi is the State Counselor and Minister of Foreign Affairs and remains the de facto leader of the country.

During her visit, Suu Kyi is set to meet with Prayut, sign a new migrant labor agreement, visit migrant workers, and pay a visit to a refugee camp along the Thai-Myanmar border. More than 100,000 Burmese—primarily Karen—displaced by decades of violent conflict still live in the border refugee camps.

Myanmar workers make up some 80 percent of Thailand's migrant labor force, with nearly 1.5 million people registered, though the actual number may be twice as high. The bulk of migrant workers work in poorly regulated fishing, construction and agriculture sectors, where abuse is allegedly rife.

The Bangkok-based Migrant Worker Rights Network said June 22 it hoped the meeting would result in the Thai government introducing a slew of increased protections for migrant workers. In a lengthy policy brief, the group outlined a range of recommendations including a minimum wage, simplified registration processes and policies that would lessen the chances of forced labor.

On the other side of the border, "Myanmar needs to formalise migration channels, crack down on corruption and ensure more transparency, as well as regulating recruitment agencies and brokers," Andy Hall, a rights activist and migrant worker specialist, told ucanews.com

Local media reported that at least 5,000 Myanmar nationals are expected to greet Suu Kyi when she visits migrant workers at the Talay Thai market in Samut Sakhon province on June 23.

Though there is little indication from official statements that the issue of the Rohingya will be discussed, the topic has been chief on many minds.

The Coalition on the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons and Asylum Access Thailand is to hold a conference in Bangkok on June 23 to urge Suu Kyi to address the Rohingya issue.

"For decades thousands of Rohingya people have [been] forced to flee their homeland to become workers or victims of human trafficking in neighboring countries including Thailand," the coalition said in a statement on June 22

"The visit of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to Thailand is a unique opportunity for Rohingya representatives and civil society organizations to highlight the plight of Rohingya people and to communicate their needs to Her Excellency," the statement said.

Neither the current nor former Myanmar governments have recognized citizenship rights of the minority Rohingya.

After anti-Muslim violence broke out in 2012, more than 120,000 were forced into camps, while tens of thousands more have fled overseas.

Human traffickers have preyed on their desperation to escape. Last year, hundreds of mass graves were discovered along the Thai-Malaysian border, where police and soldiers allegedly helped run trafficking and extortion rings.

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