Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


             Myanmar Questioning Migrants Found Stranded Offshore'

   by Colin Lovett, Than Lwin Htun

   Myanmar says it is set to begin processing more than 700 boat people it
   rescued off its coast earlier this week.

   Officials near the western border town of Maungdaw told VOA the
   refugees, including more than 70 women and 40 children, were being
   brought Wednesday to an immigration center near the town of Taung Pyo.

   The authorities say the process will take three days before officials
   can determine the status of the people and decide what to do with them.

   Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya, referring to them as Bengalis.

   "The Rohingya need to be treated as citizens of Burma," said Anne
   Richard, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for
   population, refugees and migration, speaking to reporters in Jakarta on
   Wednesday. "They need papers to show that."

   Last month, 208 refugees, all men, and 11 crew members were found
   aboard a ship that had been at sea for months.

   All but eight of the men declared they were from Bangladesh and are
   being held at a detention camp near Taung Pyo, in Myanmar, just a few
   kilometers from the border with Bangladesh.

   VOA has been given exclusive access to the detainees, who said they
   endured three months of horrific conditions before being brought back
   to land.

   A majority of the men said they were kidnapped from Cox's Bazzar and
   other ports in Bangladesh, only to be sold to human traffickers.

   ''Ismail, a 54 year old, said he went to Cox's Bazzar in search of
   local employment.

   "When I get there, a broker trapped me into this mess. I did not intend
   to go to Malaysia," he said.

   In an initial show of hands, all but one of the men said they had been
   forcibly taken to the boats. But when answering a second question,
   about one-third of the men said they would try in the future to find
   good jobs overseas.

   While VOA was interviewing the men, three plain-clothed officials who
   did not identify themselves monitored the proceedings and taped the
   encounter on cell phones.

   The men have been in the detention center for almost two weeks since
   being rescued on May 21 after three months at sea. They described dire
   conditions on board - being fed rice twice a day and given a bit of
   fresh water. Requests for additional food and water were met with
   beatings.

   Myanmar authorities told VOA that officials from the Bangladesh embassy
   had visited the refugees May 25 and are working to verify their claims
   of citizenship. If they are found to be telling the truth, the
   authorities said, they will be repatriated

   One man named Mahmoud openly wept as he called on Bangladesh to bring
   them home.

   "Because of that crook (the broker), we suffered for three months at
   sea without help. If the Myanmar navy had not rescued us, we would have
   starved and been doomed at sea," said Mahmoud.

   The alleged Thai owner of the ship and at least nine of the crew have
   been detained by Myanmar pending an investigation. They have not been
   made available to the media to tell their side of the story.

   Eight self-described Rohingya from Myanmar were among those rescued
   from the boat, but VOA was not able to talk with them because they are
   being held for investigation and authorities will not permit media
   visits with them.

   Northern Rakhine state is "one of the most oppressive atmospheres I've
   ever traveled in," said the U.S. State Department's Anne Richard.
   "It's very strange to be surrounded by people looking at you who are
   too afraid to talk to you. And especially when they're children,"
   Richard told reporters in Indonesia on Wednesday. "That's just not
   normal."

   Since the discovery of mass graves in the jungle along the Thai-Malay
   border a month ago, authorities in Thailand, which is governed by a
   military junta, have arrested more than 50 people.

   Activists contend the smuggling route could not have endured for so
   many years without the collusion of authorities, especially in Thailand
   and Malaysia. Both countries have now vowed a full investigation.

   A senior Thai military officer has surrendered to authorities as the
   most high profile suspect linked to human trafficking.

   "I ask for justice. I'm ready to fully cooperate with officials in
   every way," Lieutenant General Manus Kongpan said before turning
   himself in to police.

   With smugglers' transit camps now exposed by authorities and shut down
   along the Thai-Malay border, arrangements are being made for more
   people to land near the origin of their risky trips, according to
   Arakan Project director Chris Lewa.

   "There are still boat people at sea. We believe the boats are in the
   Bay of Bengal," Lewa told reporters in Bangkok on Tuesday.

   U.N. officials on Wednesday estimated there were about 2,000 migrants
   still at sea, half in the Bay of Bengal and half off the coasts of
   Malaysia or Indonesia.

   A camp in Sittwe, Myanmar, where tens of thousands of Rohingya reside,
   received a visit over the weekend from American actor Matt Dillon. He
   characterized the plight of the Rohingya as a "sad and heartbreaking"
   man-made problem that is solvable.

   "The people aren't living in camps because of some disaster, natural
   disaster," Dillon said Tuesday at a briefing for reporters in Bangkok.
   "This is a humanitarian situation that is caused by human beings'
   intolerance, fear, an unwillingness to allow people to co-exist," he
   said in response to a question from VOA.

   The actor explained he decided to go to the camp after hearing a
   desperate appeal a month ago from a Rohingya activist.

   An urgent multinational meeting hosted by Thailand's military
   government last Friday made no breakthroughs in resolving the crisis.
   But more discussions among ASEAN countries are expected in the coming
   weeks, including talks aimed at addressing the root cause for the
   migration.

   Myanmar finds itself under rare pressure from Malaysia and other
   members of ASEAN usually reluctant to tell other states in the region
   what to do.

   "There are more and more questions now even coming up from very senior,
   influential figures in the region - former heads of state and former
   foreign ministers - who are saying this principle of noninterference is
   untenable in the face of mass human rights abuses," said Liliane Fan, a
   research fellow with the Humanitarian Policy Group.

   President Barack Obama on Monday called on Myanmar -- also known as
   Burma -- to stop discriminating against the stateless Rohingya. The
   president said this is crucial for the successful transition to
   democracy in Myanmar.

   Between a third and half of those on the boats with the Rohingya are
   destitute Bangladeshis, seeking better opportunities in Malaysia and
   elsewhere.

   Bangladesh needs an "expanded, stronger legal migration system" to
   prevent exploitation of economic migrants," Richard said. "We think
   migration can be a very positive thing, it's not a dirty word."

   VOA correspondent Steve Herman contributed to this story from Bangkok.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/myanmar-questioning-migrants-found-st
   randed-offshore/2805535.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/myanmar-questioning-migrants-found-stranded-offshore/2805535.html