DPM:Thai authorities work clearly on Myanmar workers' case

BANGKOK, December 25 (TNA) - In response to Myanmar people’s demonstration in front of the Thai Embassy in Yangon following the death sentence handed to two Myanmar migrant workers by a Thai court on December 24, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan says that the official investigation process by Thai authorities was clear and the court heard the case carefully. General Prawit acknowledged on Friday that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the duty to explain the case to Myanmar authorities. General Prawit told journalists that he did not think Myanmar workers in Thailand would stage a protest against the Thai court’s death penalty on two Myanmar migrant workers who were found guilty of murdering two British tourists, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is authorized to explain the matter to the Myanmar government. According to the deputy prime minister and defence minister, the Thai Embassy in Yangon is protected and he believes that Myanmar workers in Thailand have had good understanding on the matter and should not stage any protest. Meanwhile, Police Colonel Suparoek Pankosol, Immigration Chief of Ranong Province in the Thai South, told journalists that Thai people returning from Myanmar informed him that the situation in the neighboring country remained normal following Thursday's ruling by the Thai court. Ranong Governor Suriyant Kanjanasilp stated that a large number of Myanmar people were arriving in Ranong to buy products for New Year celebrations. To Chai, a border coordinator of the adjacent Myanmar area of Kawthaung, told reporters that the ruling and the case drew special attention from Myanmar people, but most of them considered the case as a personal issue. Besides, the case had undergone a justice system for a long time; so, if the issue had frustrated Myanmar people in general, they should have staged protests long ago. The Myanmar official insisted that Thai people can visit Kawthaung as usual, as Myanmar authorities guarantee their safety. The Samui provincial court in Thailand's southern resort Surat Thani Province sentenced the two Myanmar migrant workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun, both aged 22, to death for murdering two British tourists, David Miller and Hannah Witheridge, both 24 years old, on Sai Ree Beach of Tao Island in Surat Thani's Koh Pha-ngan District on September 15, 2014. Win Zaw Tun was also found guilty of illegal immigration. (TNA)