Thousands of
Rohingya have fled Myanmar amid the sectarian violence that erupted last year.
Photo: Gazette file
Phuket Gazette
July 12, 2013
PHUKET: Thailand’s
Human Rights Commission (HRC) yesterday told the Phuket Gazette they were
“unable to report” on their own investigation into reports of Royal Thai Navy
sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya, allegedly killing at least two
of the refugees, in February.
The news comes four
months after Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra promised the international
press the allegations would be investigated (story here).
“We cannot reveal
anything about the investigation,” said Ketsarin Tiawsakul, director of the
HRC’s human rights infringement investigation office.
“For now, we have
nothing to say. We will release information to the public as soon as we can,”
she added.
According to a
report by the international agency Human Rights Watch, Royal Thai Navy sailors
opened fire on the Rohingya off the Phang Nga coast, north of Phuket, after
several of the refugees panicked and jumped ship.
At least two of the
refugees were shot dead, said some reports, while other reports quoted
eye-witnesses saying as many as up to 25 refugees were killed in the incident.
Two unidentified
bodies were pulled from the water in the same area at about the same time as
the alleged naval shootings.
“The condition of
the bodies made it impossible for police to determine whether or not the men
were shot,” a senior Kuraburi District Police officer told the Gazette earlier.
“In fact, we are
not sure if the bodies were Rohingya or Burmese fishing boat crew,” he added.
Although Vice
Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan, Commander of the Third Naval Area, who is
responsible for all naval operations along the Andaman coast, denied the
shootings to Australia’s ABC News, he declined to comment on the story to the
Gazette.
Comments