Junta: Thailand doesn’t violate human rights

BANGKOK, July 26 (TNA) - Denying criticisms, mostly from Western countries, Thai Army and National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has reiterated that Thailand does not violate human rights. Speaking during his weekly address on Friday (Jul 25) night, General Prayuth explained that under the current domestic situation, which has not yet fully returned to normal, it is necessary for the NCPO to curb freedom, which might affect human rights, such as urging the media to be cautious in presenting news reports. On media reports on a plan to repatriate Myanmar people who have fled fighting inside Myanmar to the Thai border, General Prayuth confirmed that no action has been taken so far, as the issue is to be discussed with the Myanmar government on how to send the Myanmar ethnics back to their country safely, while the planned repatriation must also not violate human rights. General Prayuth acknowledged the repatriation plan, if proceed, would also cover Rohingya Muslims because they were smuggled to Thailand by illegal networks and if no action was taken, the alleged human trafficking problem would continue in Thailand. Most of the Muslim Rohingya ethnics fled suppression in Myanmar and arrived in Thailand by sea and hoped to disembark in Malaysia. According to the junta chief, the Thai deputy army chief-of-staff has discussed with representatives of Amnesty International (AI) on the latter worries over human rights violation in Thailand, before and after the martial law has been imposed since late May 2014, and the AI representatives agreed and appeared to have a positive attitude toward the NCPO on the human rights after the discussion. The NCPO chief said the junta is considering to set up a committee tasked with solving human rights abuses in Thailand, while security authorities are assigned to implement it. On registrations of migrant workers to enable them to work in Thailand legally and obtain equal benefits like Thai workers, the junta chief noted that fishing trawler owners have already registered a total of their 53,260 migrant workers, while all one-stop service centres, aimed at facilitating migrant workers in the registration process, have been set up in 22 coastal Thai provinces as planned by the junta. (TNA)