| By THE IRRAWADDY |
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 |
Human Rights Watch urged Thai authorities on Friday to immediately investigate the fatal shooting of three children of migrant workers by the Thai army on Feb. 25.
The shooting in Pak Nam sub-district, Ranong province, involved soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division under the command of Col. Pornsak Punsawad. The army said soldiers fired on a pickup truck carrying 13 undocumented migrant workers from Burma on February 25, 2010, after the driver failed to heed a signal to stop for inspection.
The children killed were a three or four-year-old boy, a six or seven-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old boy. Five others in the truck were also injured in the shooting.
Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Shooting into a truck apparently without concern for who could be killed or wounded is not acceptable. This episode shows that the government needs to rethink its approach to border security...The government should act urgently to avoid a repeat of such a horrific human tragedy.”
HRW also urged Thai authorities to provide unfettered access for investigators to the survivors and to ensure that none of the survivors are deported to Burma while investigations are conducted.
The Thai government should also provide humanitarian aid to the surviving migrants and make sure that appropriate compensation is paid to the families of the three dead children, added the statement.
“Migrant workers make huge contributions to Thailand's economy, but receive little protection from abuse and exploitation. It is time for the Thai government to do the right thing by showing migrants that the state will provide justice for them when they suffer abuse,” said Adams.
There are an estimated 1.3 million migrant workers from Burma staying in Thailand, according to labor rights groups.
Apart from the deadly risks at heavily armed checkpoints along the border areas, migrants who manage to find their way into the kingdom also suffer at the hands of corrupt civil servants and police, unscrupulous employers, and violent thugs. Local police and officials frequently ignore or fail to investigate complaints effectively, said HRW.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17992 |
