Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen, a senior Thai army officer, has turned himself in over his alleged involvement in the trafficking of Myanmar’s Rohingya migrants.
First Arrest of a Military Official
Kongpaen, who is a senior adviser to the Royal Thai Army, is facing multiple charges, including human trafficking, detention and ransom.
This is the first arrest of a military official since the investigation started last month. Before Manas’ arrest warrant was issued this week, the army chief had denied the military’s involvement in the trafficking syndicates.
More than 50 people, including several local politicians and officials, were arrested after discovery of bodies of Myanmar’s Rohingya migrants at the abandoned trafficking camps near the Thai-Malaysian border.
Myanmar Should Accept the Migrants From the Ship, Says US
The root of Rohingya people’s migration problem lies in Myanmar’s Burmese Nationality Law passed in 1982, which denies the Rohingyas citizenship.
Rohingyas need to be treated as citizens of Burma. They need papers to show that.
– Anne Richard, US Assistant Secretary of State, at a press briefing in Jakarta
Richard said she expects Myanmar to bring the boat holding over 700 migrants to land on Wednesday. Myanmar’s navy found the boat crammed with people on Friday but has kept it offshore since then.
Asian Countries and Migration
Asian nations have been struggling in the face of growing waves of desperate migrants who are landing on the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and other regional countries.
In the last few weeks alone, at least 4,600 people have washed ashore or been rescued by fishermen. Several thousand more are believed to still be at sea after human smugglers abandoned their boats amid a regional crackdown.