[中文]
泰國軍方涉嫌以不人道的手段對付羅興亞難民
大批羅興亞難民在去年十二月間被泰國軍方拖至公海並棄置在大海中，僅供給有限的食物和飲水。印尼漁民在蘇門答臘北方救起了近兩百名的羅興亞難民，揭發了泰國迫害人權的事實。根據聯合國難民公署和國際特赦組織的調查，在這次事件中泰國軍方驅逐超過一千名的羅興亞難民，其中有數百名在印度及印尼海岸獲救，然而已造成大批難民的傷亡。
泰國官方說法
在國際輿論的壓力下，泰國總理艾比希（Abhisit Vejjajiva）下令調查該事件，並於1月間聲稱沒有任何士兵虐待羅興亞船民。
泰國總理認為，緬甸政府拒絕負起照顧羅興亞難民的責任，而羅興亞難民對泰國而言則是必須被遣返回緬甸的「非法移工」，因此不會提供政治庇護。同時總理艾比希也聲稱泰國會以人道的方式對待羅興亞難民。然而，BBC新聞指出泰國軍方與警方私下已經證實泰國軍方將羅興亞難民驅趕至海面上的消息。最後總理艾比希終於在2月12日CNN的專訪中公開承認「在某些情形下」泰國軍方的確將羅興亞難民放逐在大海中。總理艾比希聲稱無法得知哪位官員批准本次的行動，然而會盡力解決這個問題。
關於2月12日CNN的專訪，請參考CNN官方於下列網址所提供的影片：http://0rz.tw/7IKfq
國際NGO與台灣公民社會的關切
台灣自由緬甸網絡（TFBN）十分關切羅興亞難民的情形，我們要求有關的國家停止對羅興亞難民的迫害，並提供立即的援助。同時，我們也呼籲國際社會共同關心這個議題。
羅興亞是緬甸境內信奉穆斯林的少數族群，居住在西緬甸的Rakhine州，然而他們的公民身分在1978年的龍王行動（Nagamin, Dragon King Operation）中被排除。緬甸政府對於羅興亞人進行了有系統的迫害，並造成超過400,000名羅興亞難民逃亡至鄰近國家，例如孟加拉、印度、印尼、馬來西亞、沙烏地阿拉伯和泰國。據統計，目前有約230,000名羅興亞難民居住於孟加拉，而原居地Rakhine尚有700,000至1500,000的穆斯林，其中大多為羅興亞人（本資料根據2004年國際特赦組織的統計）。換句話說，羅興亞難民已經成為區域性的議題。
許多團體如國際特赦組織和聯合國難民公署都高度關切羅興亞人的處境。他們要求緬甸停止對羅興亞人的迫害，並且試圖說服泰國政府提供立即且妥善的人道援助。為了解決該問題，泰國和孟加拉政府不約而同提出區域性倡議的需求。確實如此，為了徹底解決羅興亞難民問題，在有關國家之間建立區域性論壇是現今十分迫切的任務。國際特赦組織亞太區域辦公室負責人Sam Zarifi也表示，針對羅興亞難民當前的處境，我們必須提出有效的解決方案，而不是將羅興亞難民送回另他們感到恐懼的緬甸。
身為東南亞國協主席，泰國總理艾比希曾說他將會協助東南亞國協成為「以人為本」的社群。因此，相關的重要議題如人權、糧食、能源安全、災難管制、國際金融與經濟危機等等都會在即將到來的第十四屆東南亞國際高峰會議中成為備受關注的焦點。我們除了預期大會將針對羅興亞難民問題提出妥善的方案，同時台灣自由緬甸網絡（TFBN）也會持續關注羅興亞難民議題後續的發展。
[English]
Thailand’s military is accused for its inhuman behavior against Rohingya refugees.
Large groups of Rohingya boat people were intercepted in Thai waters and towed out to sea and left to die, with only very limited food and drink. The disclosure came after that about 200 Rohingya refugees were rescued by fishermen of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
According to the information from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Amnesty International (AI), there might be over 1,000 Rohingyas forcibly expelled by Thai military, and hundreds of them were rescued by India and Indonesia while others died in sea.
Under the international pressure over this issue, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva took investigation in January and declared that he had been informed that the soldiers did not abuse the Rohingya boat people. However, BBC News indicated that some Thai military and police sources had admitted that Rohingyas were sent back to sea.
Prime Minister Abhisit said that Myanmar denied its responsibility for Rohingya refugee, and therefore Thailand will not provide asylum to these “illegal immigrant workers.” Moreover, he claimed that Rohingyas must be sent back to where they came from, Myanmar. However, Prime Minister Abhisit promised that Thailand would treat Rohingyas humanely.
In a CNN interview on February 12, Prime Minister Abhisit finally admitted that “some instances” in which Thai military pushed Rohingya refugees out to sea. He claimed that “it is not exactly clear whose work it is,” and he was working on rectifying the problem. (The Feb 12 CNN interview with Prime Minister Abihisit: http://0rz.tw/7IKfq)
As members of Taiwan Free Burma Network (TFBN), we are deeply concerned about the condition of Rohingya refugees, whose condition is getting even dangerous from the end of 2008. We urge concerning countries to stop their persecution to Rohingya refugees, and to provide immediate assistance. Moreover, we also urge international society to care about this issue.
Rohingya is a Muslim ethnic minority from northern Rakhine state in Myanmar, but their citizenship was denied under the Nagamin (Dragon King) operation in 1978. Since then, Myanmar government has adopted a series of systematic persecution against Rohingyas, and it resulted in over 400,000 Royingyas refugees in neighbor countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. According to the statistic data of Amnesty International (AI) in 2004, there are about 230,000 Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, and about 700,000 to 1.5 million Muslims living in Rakhine state, most of whom are Rohingyas. In other words, it has become a regional issue rather than a problem of any single nation.
Many groups, such as AI and UNHCR, are highly concerned about the critical condition of Rohingyas. They are urging Myanmar to stop the persecution against Rohingyas, and trying to persuade Thai government to provide immediate and adequate humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees. Thailand and Bangladesh both proposed that a regional initiative is needed to solve Rohingya refugee issue. Indeed, it is urgent to form a regional forum between concerned countries to figure out durable regional solutions, which “must ensure that those Rohingyas who have a well-rounded fear of persecution in Myanmar are not returned there,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
As the chairman of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he will help ASEAS to become the “people-based” community. Therefore, important issues such as human rights, food, energy security, disaster management, world financial and economic crisis will be discussed in the forthcoming Fourteen ASEAS Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand. In this summit, we believe that appropriate solutions to Rohingya refugee problems are expected, and Taiwan Free Burma Network will keep watching the possible regional forum and solutions over this issue.
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