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Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts

Monday, November 3, 2014

4 children trafficked in Mae Sot


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A case involving the trafficking of 4 children had occurred in Thonthong quarter, Mae Sot on March 1, 2014. A 3 years old girl and 3 boys between 12 and 13 years olds, who were the victims, were saved after making arrest of the perpetrators. It was because the parents of the victims had reported to Thonthong public safety office that had successfully saved the victims by arresting 3 perpetrators at the midnight on March 2.

Among the 3 perpetrators living on the middle island under the friendship bridge, as the homeless people, the presumable leader, a 17 years old male, was a drug addict, and he had involved in many criminal activities including trafficking children at 1500 baht per head.
A member of Thonthong public safety office said, “I think they have been in this business for some time because they are smart enough to bring these kids to Mae Sot- Myawaddy river bank. They have many other connections to transport the kids by car. Luckily, we could manage to save them overnight by making arrest to the traffickers. We had handed over 3 perpetrators to police for further action too. We found 2 Karen kids along with our children there. They are being persuaded and forced to beg on the streets. Now, we took them from there and let them stay at our office.” According to Thonthong public safety office, it would hand over these Karen children, a 6 years old boy and a 13 years old boy to Social Action for Women (SAW) organization that has the experience to take care of the children who were being trafficked.

Human trafficking police to open border offices

Police are to intensify their operations on the country’s borders to crack down on human trafficking. They will open new offices at Myawady and Mae Sot by the end of October, the police force’s Anti Trafficking in Persons Division in Nay Pyi Taw has announced.
“The aim is to strengthen cooperation with the Thai police to prevent trafficking by improving communications between both our police forces so they can work together effectively on anti-trafficking,” Police Captain Min Naing told The Myanmar Times.
“When the traffickers cross the border with their victims, they disguise themselves in many ways and it is hard to trace them. Now, police from both countries can work together to arrest them,” he said.

Mae Sot's Human Trafficking Crisis Worsens




Burmese children are often exploited in Thailand as cheap or free sources of labor by unscrupulous traffickers and businessmen. (Photo: Reuters)










MAE SOT—Aung Khine was 11 years old when his father passed away. His father had worked as a carpenter to provide for his mother and two little sisters. Now without their father’s support, the family was facing serious problems

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thai PM says New DNA Tests Can Be Done in British Probe Into Koh Tao Murders


 
Two Burmese migrant workers suspected of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao stand with Thai police officers during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. (Photo: Reuters)
Two Burmese migrant workers suspected of killing two British tourists on Koh Tao stand with Thai police officers during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. (Photo: Reuters)
BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday challenged critics of a police investigation into the murder of two British tourists saying new DNA tests can be done as concern grows that two men arrested over the killings might have been framed.
Two Burmese men—migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21— were charged with the murder of Britons David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, whose bodies were found on a beach on the southern island of Koh Tao on Sept. 15.

British Police to Join Thai Investigation Into Koh Tao Murders


 
 
People wait in line as Thai police collect data as part of their investigation into the murder of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao. (Photo: Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom)
People wait in line as Thai police collect data as part of their investigation into the murder of two British tourists on the island of Koh Tao. (Photo: Reuters / Chaiwat Subprasom)

Thai Protests Leave Many Burmese Migrant Workers Without Visas

Myanmar ,Thailand, Burma, border, migrant, labor, labour, visa
Burmese workers transporting goods are seen inside the main market in Mae Sot, in Thailand’s Tak Province. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy)
Burmese migrant workers in Thailand are struggling to extend expired working visas as continuous anti-government protests in Bangkok and elsewhere affect the country’s administration, leaving thousands at risk of arrest, according to sources.
“Because of political rallies, it has not been easy to negotiate between the two governments for Burmese workers who have lived in Thailand for longer than their four-year visas,” Aye Myint, Burma’s Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security told The Irrawaddy.
The on-going protests against the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra began in early November last year, triggered by a proposed amnesty bill that would have facilitated the return of her elder brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The bill was passed by the Pheu Thai Party-dominated House of Representatives but turned down by the Senate.

Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand

Burmese migrant workers in Thailand have entered the international spotlight, following the trial of labor rights activist Andy Hall and the widely questioned arrest of two Burmese laborers on charges of murdering two British tourists on the holiday island of Koh Tao.
An estimated two million Burmese are working inside Thailand, some documented and others there illegally, escaping decades of war back home. Apart from the lack of job opportunities in their own country, many are escaping extreme poverty. Most are in construction, working up to ten hours a day, seven days a week.

Seeking Refuge, Forced into Rubbish


U Nyo from Rangoon lives at the Mae Sot dump with his 10 grandchildren, who were born in this hut. “We are at the lowest step of the ladder,” he says, reflecting on conditions in the dump, where he has stayed for a decade. (Photo: Jacques Maudy / The Irrawaddy)

Beaches, Temples and Sex—Will Burmese Tourism Follow the Thai Model?





Western visitors to the Thai resort of Pattaya negotiate with local sex workers. (PHOTO: Kay Chernush)









Burma took in fewer foreign visitors last year than every other nation in Southeast and East Asia with the exception of North Korea. However, a new dawn of political reform in the Golden Land has alerted travelers to the prospect of visiting this indisputably beautiful and hospitable country.
Hailed by everyone in the Western press from CNN to Lonely Planet to Travel & Leisure magazine as one of the world's “in” places to visit in 2012, Burma finds its tourism industry ready to increase exponentially in the next three years if its sadly inadequate infrastructure can possibly match the demand.

Burmese Find No Reprieve from Low Pay, Harsh Work

Mizzima News (www.mizzim.com): After two years of passively accepting her
employer's orders, Khin Wa finally found the courage to be defiant. She refused to give into his latest demand - work a 14-hour shift after completing a gruelling 28-hour one that she had just completed a while ago.
But she was not alone. There were others who were moved likewise, over 70 of
her colleagues, all Burmese migrants, employed at a garment factory in this town in Tak province, close to the Thai-Burma border.
The 23-year-old Wa knew the risk she was taking for this display of solidarity on a recent Monday in September. ''We can be fired any day for doing this,'' said the thin, mild-mannered Burmese at the entrance to the factory, Siriwat Garments.
Her worry is not misplaced in this factory -- which produces clothes bearing
internationally known names such as Dockers, a brand that belongs to the U.S.-based clothing giant Levi Strauss & Co.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Syria: Descent Into The Abyss


An unforgettable anthology of contemporary reportage

This remarkable anthology of reportage chronicles more than three years of spiralling violence and despair in Syria: atrocity heaped upon atrocity, misery upon misery, and all - so far - to no avail. No faction is without blood on its hands; no crime, from torture to poison gas , has been deemed taboo. The dead are too numerous to count : the UN mid-2014 figure of 190,000 is one of the more conservative estimates. As for the living, close to 3 million refugees have fled Syria, with millions more internally displaced.

Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand






Mizzima News (www.mizzim.com): After two years of passively accepting her
employer's orders, Khin Wa finally found the courage to be defiant. She refused to give into his latest demand - work a 14-hour shift after completing a gruelling 28-hour one that she had just completed a while ago.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Thailand beach murders: Second Burmese worker 'confesses' to killing British backpackers


One suspect, a local barman, reportedly told police he had "become aroused" and decided to rape Hannah Witheridge then kill both her and companion David Miller



Caught on film: CCTV claiming to show three suspects; Brits (inset) were found bludgeoned to death

Two migrant workers have “confessed” to murdering British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller.
Police in Thailand said today that “after being interrogated” the two Burmese men had admitted to the horrific killings on the paradise island of Koh Tao.
A third man detained by the authorities denies taking part.
The bodies of Hannah, 23, and, David, 24, were found in a rocky alcove on a beach on September 15 close to the hotel where they were staying.

One of the suspects is a 21-year-old barman working at a beach pub near the scene of the crime.
A police source said he had ”become aroused” after seeing Hannah and David on the beach and decided to rape her and kill them both.


 The other man said to have confessed is thought to be the mystery “guitar man” spotted playing songs nearby shortly before the Brits were beaten to death.

Insecurity hangs over Thai generals as they take world stage

PAVIN CHACHAVALPONGPUN

Prayuth Chan-ocha waves as he leaves a temple after praying for good luck prior to a meeting in Bangkok. © AP
As he boarded the plane from Bangkok to Milan Oct. 14 for the 10th annual Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Thailand's new Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was no doubt feeling optimistic about his government's prospects. The visit to Italy highlights the growing confidence of the former army chief and leader of the May 22 coup, and symbolizes his government's hopes of acceptance in international forums such as ASEM, which starts today.
    It is unclear whether Prayuth will hold high-level bilateral talks with European leaders in Milan, although Thai officials have said he hopes to do so. But his presence is intended to convince the world that Thailand is on the path back to democracy.
    Claiming that he staged the coup to save Thailand from falling into a political abyss, Prayuth has promised to implement sweeping reforms and prepare the country for elections. But there have been no indications of serious progress on democratic development. On the contrary, the democratic space continues to shrink as the military entrenches itself in politics.

Monday, October 20, 2014

New Inland port proposed in Maungdaw

(Narinjara News, 18 October 2014):
MaungdawThe Rakhine state government has planned to set up a new inland port in Maungdaw, a western Burma border town, to boost trades with neighbouring Bangladesh, said the  Maungdaw based border trade association.
The government has decided to construct the new port nearby to Kayin Chaung jetty, which is two miles away from Maungdaw. The port may cover an area of 50 acres. The proposed port is understood to allow cargo ships with 300 to 400 tons of items from Bangladesh to Burma and vice versa.
“The present jetty is a narrow one and hence not suitable for extensive trading activities. So the State government has decided to constrict the new port in  an location near to Kayin Chaung jetty, where at least 20 warehouse/storehouses will come up,” said a local border trade association leader.

What is going on on Madae Island, a crucial location on the Shwe Gas pipeline project?

(If you want to know, read the interview.)
Madae Island located in Kyaukpru Township of Arakan State is a crucial location on the Shwe Gas pipeline project.  It is where a deep seaport for Chinese oil tankers is located.  Oil storage tanks, drinking water tanks for seagoing vessels, oil terminals, oil and natural gas pipelines, and living quarters for Chinese engineers are being built on the island.  Due to all these projects on the island, what has been happening to the lands of local people that have been passed down in families for generations?  Narinjara had a chance to ask an elder from the island on the phone.  He began talking about his island as follows:

Thailand 'agrees to UK police help'


LONDON — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has agreed to allow British police to help with the investigation into the murder of two young Britons on the holiday island of Koh Tao, diplomatic sources said Friday. 
The Ocean View Bungalows hotel where two British backpackers who were murdered were staying on the southern island of Koh Tao, Sept 17, 2014.
The head of the junta dropped his objections to a visit by British detectives following a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron on the margins of the Asem summit of European and Asian leaders in Milan.
"What the prime minister secured this morning was agreement from the Thai prime minister that we can send some British police investigators to Koh Tao to work with the Royal Thai Police on this," a British diplomatic source said.
Myanmar migrant workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were charged with the murder of David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, after the tourists' battered bodies were found on Koh Tao on Sept 15.
Thai police have said the two suspects confessed to the crime and their DNA matched samples taken from Witheridge's body, but there have been accusations that the men were tortured — something Thailand strongly denies.

Confessed Koh Tao killers re-enact British backpackers' final minutes

DNA proves a match, police say

  • Published: | Viewed: 52,855 | Comments: 26
  • Writer: Supapong Chaolan and Bob James
It was well after midnight and Wyn, Saw and Mau were smoking, drinking and playing music near a line of pine trees on the edge of Koh Tao’s Sairee beach as David Miller and Hannah Witherridge headed toward a secluded spot of ocean where they could be alone. 
Hundreds of tourists, Koh Tao residents and police surround the scene on Sairee beach

Monday, September 15, 2014

U-turn in migrant labour policy?


After an abusive and untransparent crackdown, a million migrant workers were finally registered recently. Will the new government continue the positive trend? 
migrant labourers

Photo above of migrants from Burma working at a shrimp factory in Mahachai on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Read the whole article here.

Click button to listen to Migrant Labour Reform to download

FOREIGN LABOUR: A changing migration landscape for Thailand by Andy Hall


In 2009, Thailand imposed a February 2010 deadline for 1.3 million registered migrants from Burma, Cambodia and Laos who originally entered the country "illegally'',

Cambodian migrants flee Thailand amid crackdown fears

 


Tens of thousands of Cambodians are fleeing neighbouring Thailand amid fears the new military leadership will crackdown on migrant workers.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) tweeted that 70,000 people crossed the border this week.