THAILAND
- The people of Ranong will oppose the setting up of a refugee camp
for Rohingyas in the southern coastal province, their leader said
yesterday.
Sucheep
Patthong said his group would launch protests if there were reports
indicating the government intended to open a Rohingya refugee camp in
Ranong.
Sucheep said he had sympathy for the Rohingya people but if they were allowed to live in a refugee camp in Ranong, it would have a negative impact on the local people.
"Ranong
is now already suffering enough from some 100,000 immigrant workers
living in the province. This has led to social, security and
public health problems,"
Sucheep added.
He
said Thailand is also facing a problem because of some 20,000
children born to Myanmar workers in the Kingdom so the Rohingya would
add to the problems to the country.
He
said Thailand had nothing to do with the Rohingya hence Myanmar,
Bangladesh and the United Kingdom should step in to help them.
Meanwhile,
a 54-year-old Rohingya, who called himself Aree and who has been
living in Ranong for 20 years, said he had to pay a bribe of Bt30,000
(S$1,200) to get an identification of a non-Thai displaced person
allowed to live legally in the country.
He
said he and his wife had been living in Thailand for more than 20
years and had to earlier pay bribes to local officials regularly to
avoid being rounded up and deported. They have eight children.
He
said he, his wife and his first daughter got the ID card and were
allowed to work without having to hide.
Source Asiaone
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