'1000 Rohingya' Off Phuket as Scale of Trafficker Trade is Revealed
 |
| Children among boatpeople apprehended on Phuket on January 1 (Photo - Phuket Wan) |
Chutima Sidasathian & Alan Morison
Phuket Wan
January 14, 2013
UPDATE
NINE boats containing about 1000 Rohingya men, women and children are off the coast in the Phuket region now, maritime authorities said on Monday. Two boats that were being ''helped on'' are now being brought to shore, the authorities said.
Original Report
PHUKET: Two boatloads of would-be Rohingya refugees are being ''helped on'' off the coast north of Phuket today as one senior military officer in the Andaman region called for the Thai government to clarify its policy.
''We are encountering so many boats already this year with woman and children on board,'' he said, preferring not to be named. ''Signs are that they will come in even greater numbers now.''
Another senior officer said that the boats were coming in such vast numbers that the Thai military could no longer accurately tally passenger totals.
The latest interceptions occurred off the coast from the fishing port of Kuraburi in Phang Nga province today, with the Thai Navy and Marine Police checking the health and welfare of passengers at sea.
''We cannot hope to intercept all the boats,'' the second senior officer said.
