Int'l meeting on Rohingya migrants starts in Bangkok

BANGKOK, May 29 (TNA) - A one-day international meeting in Bangkok on solutions to irregular migration in the Indian Ocean, especially Rohingya migrants, has been on progress. A total of 17 countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, plus the United States, Switzerland and Japan as observers and three international organisations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), attended the May 29 Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean. Inaugurating the international meeting on Friday morning, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn stressed that there is a need for every concerned party to solve the unusual migrant problem in the Indian Ocean on a sustainable basis. General Tanasak pointed out that problems related to the irregular migration in the Indian Ocean cannot be solved by a single country, but they need time and cooperation from all relevant parties worldwide. General Tanasak said Friday's meeting is organised by Thailand, as the Kingdom considers that the problems need to be resolved urgently to assist the migrants on a humanitarian basis and to prevent human trafficking. In order to solve the problems at the root cause, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister acknowledged, the Thai government has provided an initial assistance, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cooperated with IOM by inviting countries wishing to offer assistance and to solve the problems to attend the meeting. Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State Anne C. Richard told journalists before participating in the meeting that the US government has given assistance to Myanmar people who are at risk to becoming victims of human traffickers, including Rohingya migrants, over the past two years, by donating some 109 million US dollars to UN agencies to help them. Richard said the US government is prepared to offer more help after Friday’s meeting, noting that Washington has officially requested the Thai government in sending planes to operate with the Thai side in flying and helping the migrants, but the Thai government has not given any approval so far. Richard noted that Washington is now cooperating with Malaysia in flying over its territorial waters and she is scheduled to leave for Malaysia and Indonesia after Friday’s meeting to find out the root cause of the problems. (TNA)