More Persecution for the Rohingya Refugees

The United Nations has called for an investigation into the findings of a report that Thai immigration officials sold Rohingya Muslims fleeing from persecution in Myanmar to human traffickers.

"These allegations need to be investigated urgently," UN refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan said in a statement issued on Friday. 

"We have consistently asked countries in the region to provide temporary protection, including protection against abuse and exploitation," she added. 

A report based on a two-month investigation in three countries published on Thursday by Reuters revealed that Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees had been removed from Thailand’s detention centers and transported across the country’s south. The refugees were held hostage in camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until their relatives pay ransoms to release them. 

"The detainees also need to be informed about their options in a language they understand. Any decision to leave must be voluntary, and those who choose to leave must be protected against abuse and exploitation by smugglers," said Tan. 

On Friday, the United States also made a call for an investigation into the scandal. "We are aware of reports alleging that Thai officials have been involved in selling Rohingya migrants to human traffickers," US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said. 

"We urge the Thai government to conduct a serious and transparent investigation into the matter," she added. 

"We remain deeply concerned about the safety of and humanitarian conditions for vulnerable communities in Burma, including refugees and asylum seekers on Burma's borders and elsewhere in the region," Harf stated. 

Myanmar’s government refuses to recognize Rohingya Muslims as citizens and labels them as “illegal” immigrants. 

Rohingya Muslims have been denied Myanmar citizenship since a new citizenship law was enacted in 1982. About 800,000 Rohingyas in the western state of Rakhine are deprived of citizenship rights due to the policy of discrimination that has denied them the right of citizenship and made them vulnerable to acts of violence and persecution, expulsion, and displacement.  , and there have been a number of attacks on Rohingyas over the past year. The violence that originally targeted Rohingya Muslims in western Myanmar is beginning to spread to other parts of the country, where Muslims who have been granted citizenship are now being attacked.