The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Rights Group Concerned over Arrest of Burmese Migrants in Thai Murder Case
• Philippines Says it Can’t Permanently House Aussie Refugees
• Indonesia Leader Calls for Restraint in South China Sea
• Ex-Teacher Charged With Sedition for Thai Protest Support

Rights Group Concerned over Arrest of Burmese Migrants in Thai Murder Case Posted: 27 Oct 2015 10:45 PM PDT Burmese migrant workers suspected of murder during a crime reenactment in the southern Thai border town of Ranong on Tuesday. (Photo: Foundation for Education and Development) CHIANG MAI, Thailand — A Thailand-based migrant rights group has expressed concern over the arrest of four Burmese migrant workers in the border town of Ranong last week in connection with the brutal murder of a Thai teenager. The four migrants were led through a crime reenactment by Thai police on Tuesday, accompanied by scores of Thai soldiers and police and a crowd of onlookers. The migrants, who are all fishermen, are suspects in the stabbing murder of a 19-year-old Thai woman on the evening of Sept. 28 in the southern Thai province of Ranong. Min Oo, a migrant rights advocate at the Foundation for Education and Development (FED), said one of the accused was arrested on Oct. 20 and the three others on Oct. 24. He said Thai police had been arresting and interrogating many Burmese migrant workers since the murder took place. Two migrants, who were subsequently released, reported mistreatment during their interrogation, according to Min Oo. "As this kind of abuse was reported, we are suspicious as to whether the migrants are the real criminals," said Min Oo, who witnessed the crime re-enactment in Ranong on Tuesday. On Thai commercial broadcaster Channel 3 on Tuesday night, Thai police claimed that one suspect had confessed to the murder. Min Oo said his team, along with representatives from the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, had sought to meet the detained suspects, Wai Lin, Moe Zin Aung, Kyaw Soe Win, and Sein Kadone, thus far without success. Two of the migrants are reportedly under the age of 18. "[Thai police] asked us to come and meet the suspects [on Tuesday]. But when we arrived, they wouldn't let us meet them. Our group included lawyers and officials from the Burmese Embassy. We had all the official documents from the embassy showing that we represent migrant workers, but we were not permitted," Min Oo said. In a separate case, the defense team representing two Burmese migrant workers accused of the murder of two British backpackers on southern Thailand's Koh Tao last year, issued closing statements to the court in Koh Samui on Monday. A verdict is expected on December 24. The case gained widespread attention after the two accused, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, alleged they were tortured into a confession. It also shone a light on Thailand's treatment of its vast migrant workforce, many of whom labor in dangerous industries for little pay and without access to legal recourse. The post Rights Group Concerned over Arrest of Burmese Migrants in Thai Murder Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Philippines Says it Can’t Permanently House Aussie Refugees Posted: 27 Oct 2015 09:14 PM PDT President Benigno Aquino gestures while answering questions during a Foreign Correspondent Association of the Philippines annual presidential forum in Manilaม October 27, 2015. (Photo: Romeo Ranoco / Reuters) MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is unable to permanently resettle refugees from Australian-run detention camps as it attempts to provide for its own people, President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday. Aquino said his government is seriously studying an Australian proposal that it accept refugees now in Australian-run camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea, but there are limitations to what it can do as a developing county. Australia refuses to accept refugees who attempt to reach its shores by boat. Aquino noted that the Philippines agreed to host Indochinese refugees after the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s with the understanding that it would only be a transit point. But it was swamped with hundreds of thousands who stayed for 15 years, including some who became permanent residents, he said. "I think Australia can recognize that we do have a significantly bigger population than they do," he said. "We have challenges to meeting the needs of our people right now. We would want to assist but there are limitations as to how far we can assist." "If this proposed agreement… is not one of just being a transit point but actually relocating these people here, we think we are not in a capacity at this point in time to afford a permanent residency to these people," he added. Australia has a multi-million dollar deal with Cambodia to resettle refugees from an Australia-run detention camp on the Pacific nation of Nauru. But only four refugees have so far taken up the offer of cash, free health insurance and accommodation to move from Nauru to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. That has prompted critics to dub the deal an expensive flop and has sent the government looking for another solution. Following reports of talks to relocate the refugees, Sarah Hanson-Young, a senator with the minor Greens party, has said Australia was once again passing its responsibility to care for refugees on to another poor country. Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the left-wing Philippine group Bayan, said it was "shameful" for a wealthy nation like Australia to refuse the refugees and instead relocate them in a developing country like the Philippines. The post Philippines Says it Can't Permanently House Aussie Refugees appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Indonesia Leader Calls for Restraint in South China Sea Posted: 27 Oct 2015 08:18 PM PDT US President Barack Obama and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo deliver remarks to reporters after their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, October 26, 2015. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters) WASHINGTON — Indonesia's president called Tuesday for all parties in the disputed South China Sea to exercise restraint and for China and Southeast Asia's regional bloc to start discussions on the substance of a code of conduct to manage tensions there. President Joko Widodo was speaking in Washington, hours after a US Navy warship sailed past one of China's artificial islands in the Spratly Islands archipelago in a challenge to Chinese sovereignty claims, drawing an angry protest from Beijing. Widodo, who met President Barack Obama on Monday, did not directly refer to the US action. He said Indonesia supports freedom of navigation but also underlined his nation's neutrality. Indonesia has islands that may fall within China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, but doesn't count itself as one of the claimants to the disputed islands and reefs. "Indonesia is not a party to the dispute but we have a legitimate interest in peace and stability there. We call on all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from taking actions that could undermine trust and confidence and put at risk the peace and stability of the region," he told the Brookings Institution think tank. He said Indonesia, the largest nation in Southeast Asia, is ready to play "an active role" in resolving the dispute. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, and China have made little headway in the past decade on negotiating a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea, which is a major conduit for world trade. China says virtually all of the South China Sea belongs to it, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam claim either parts or all of it. Since 2013, China has accelerated the creation of new outposts by piling sand atop reefs and atolls then adding buildings, ports and airstrips big enough to handle bombers and fighter jets. Tuesday's sail-past was Washington's most significant effort to date to demonstrate that China's manmade islands cannot be considered sovereign territory with the right to surrounding territorial waters. Beijing, however, said the move damaged US-China relations and regional peace. The post Indonesia Leader Calls for Restraint in South China Sea appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Ex-Teacher Charged With Sedition for Thai Protest Support Posted: 27 Oct 2015 08:02 PM PDT A military policeman stands guard before Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrives at the Education Ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, May 21, 2015. (Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters) BANGKOK — A 77-year-old retired schoolteacher in Thailand was stopped as he was leaving the country on vacation and arrested on sedition charges for giving flowers to an anti-military protester earlier this year, officials said Tuesday. A lawyer for Preecha Kaewbanpaew said his client gave flowers to, and briefly walked with, one of four demonstrators who staged a peaceful protest in March against the use of military courts to try civilians. The practice, mainly for political offenses, began last year after the army overthrew an elected civilian government. The broadly defined sedition law provides for up to seven years in prison for inciting unrest. Preecha was arrested Sunday and released on bail by a military court on Monday after spending the night at a police station, police Col. Rangsan Praditpol said. Thailand's ruling junta has clamped down on dissent, saying it is restoring order after almost a decade of sometimes-violent domestic political conflict. Preecha was also charged with violating a law established by the junta banning political gatherings of more than five people, even though he was just one of a small crowd that watched the protesters. The ban is inconsistently enforced. Winthai Chatmontri, a lawyer for Free Thai Legal Aid, said Preecha said he just gave flowers to Pansak Srithep, a pro-democracy activist and father of a man who was fatally shot during anti-government protests in 2010, and was following the crowd when a policeman convinced him to give him his phone number. Preecha only learned about the charges and an arrest warrant against him when he was stopped by immigration police before leaving the country for Laos on vacation, Winthai said. The post Ex-Teacher Charged With Sedition for Thai Protest Support appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

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